QotW: What sort of shortage would make you "give up the ghost" ?

[Pres]

Hi folks, I have been thinking about a few strands here on the forum that concern shortages. Most of the shortages are due to the Covid situation which has made some major changes in the supply chain. Thinking about this made me wonder. . . what would it take for a potter, either a full timer or a hobbyist, to give up on pottery? 

In my own situation, I usually make pots when I feel like it, which is not in the cold, but otherwise whenever I can get the time in the studio. I love to throw, and at times handbuild. Working with the clay is therapeutic and satisfying, just as opening a kiln for me is like Christmas still. I imagine that if things stayed cold all year round, I would probably find a better way to heat the shop, and keep on keeping on. If for some reason I became disabled, I believe I would still deal with things to some degree working with the clay as so many others on the forum have. Shortage of electric, I would probably change clays and go to pit firing, and bring the kick wheel out of the basement to work that way, or buy a treadle wheel.  I know that I am getting older, and that I take longer to throw a bat of mugs, but they are better mugs and more creative than the ones before, so time is not an issue. The only thing I can think of stopping me from making pots is the shortage of clay. . . Heaven forbid! I could probably turn Pioneer Potter, and dig/process the clay on my own, but then by the time I was done, too much time and energy has been exhausted leaving me the same!

QotW: What sort of shortage would make you "give up the ghost" ?  

 

best,

Pres

[Mark C.]

For me its not a shortage issue -its more a wrist hands issue . I need them to last my whole life without to much pain. Clay work has taken its toll and I need to do less  clay so that I can continue without giving up the ghost.

With three bones missing in right wrist (a prc) and one bone gone in left thumb clay has had some serious effects on my after 50 years. I really do not want a wrist fusion which is what is next-so I need to gauge clay /pain with giving up the ghost

My long term plan which is getting more short term every day less clay work-less outlets less sales -

Edited December 8, 2021 by Mark C.

[neilestrick]

27 minutes ago, Mark C. said:

For me its not a shortage issue -its more a wrist hands issue . I need them to last my whole life without to much pain. Clay work has taken its toll and I need to do less  clay so that I can continue without giving up the ghost.

This. My thumbs and a couple of my fingers have started to be painful in the joints, sometimes to the point that they throb for a couple of days after heavy use. I'm seeing my hand doctor and wearing a brace on one thumb at night, and I've seen some improvement, so that's good. I could always do the cinnamon roll tendon surgery on my thumbs if needed, but I'd like to avoid that if possible. I just want to make sure my hands won't limit my activities in retirement when I'll have time to do some of the other things I enjoy doing like woodworking and fishing.

[Hulk]

Likely I'd turn away if there were no power available to turn the electric wheel.

There is clay nearby - many of the California Mission roof tiles were made here - it'd be a whole project; however, I'd give it a try.
If glaze choices became more limited, I'd likely roll with that.
If firing became difficult, I'd like to think I'd still throw, trim, and finish, but recycle a lot more.

I'm enjoying the whole process; however, throwing is what got me into it, and I'm not seeing running a kick or treadle wheel.

[Pres]

Health problems are major, so call it a shortage of health/movement. 

I really sympathize with those of you having joint problems. I have dealt with the aftermath of my rt thumb surgery over the years. First my bowling thumb would swell up so much that it would not fit in the thumb hole, needing a larger thumb hole, and then a new system came out with replaceable thumb holes-BIG help!  Then the joint died, and I have limited movement for gripping so handles had to be pulled with left hand, poorly or pulled a little better with the right. Best solution is the caulk gun extruder still working well. I have noticed that my pulling fingers have begun to curve to fit naturally together for better bracing. I use a hand exerciser everyday for grip, and a wrist gyro ball to strengthen the wrist.  All in all the Golden Years turn out to be highly tarnished.

 

best,

Pres

 

 

[Denice]

My husband is starting his fourth year of retirement and I think everything that could go wrong did.  He had health problems right away,  in the middle of his colon surgery his mother was brought by a ambulance to the same hospital.   We spent two years handling things for his mom,  she died last November,  still settling the will a year later.  In middle of all this  Covid shutdown,  I had both wrists and a finger operated on and I have arthritis in my fingers.   I haven't given up,  I am reorganizing my shop this week,  even hanging new blinds.   I started on a alternative plan to keep me in my studio ten years ago.  I started growing gourds,  I know they are not clay but they are shaped like pots and are light weight.  There are many ways to get designs on them with light weight tools.  If you not into growing them you can buy them in bulk on-line.   I have seen finished pieces in galleries and have bought a dozed pieces for inspiration. I bought one that was from a gallery on 5th avenue at a estate sale.  My big project this winter is 3'x4' mural.   I guess I'd better get to work.   Denice

[neilestrick]

As for a shortage of some material, I require a clay body that vitrifies, electricity for the kiln, and the ability to make some glazes. There are a lot of possibilities with the clay and glazes, so it would have to be a pretty serious shortage of multiple materials for either of those to be a problem.

Another potential issue, and I don't think it's going to happen any time soon, is the pollution from kilns. I think that at some point, probably a decade or more away still, there will be emissions limits placed on kilns, as least in commercial settings like my studio. Meeting those emission standards could be cost prohibitive for many small studios.

I think about these things a lot, as my career is 100% dependent on all things in the studio ceramics world staying fairly constant, and I've been in the ceramics world long enough to see how materials shortages can mess things up. I've always avoided specialty glazes that use and worked with fairly simple materials so that I'm less likely to have to make big changes to my work due to shortages.

[JohnnyK]

A shortage of hands would do me in. I had both thumbs operated on some years ago and the surgeries gave back full use of my hands. The rest of the arthritis is nowhere near enough to make me give up. Electricity to fire the kiln would be another thing. Although I prefer throwing over handbuilding, I could get by without a wheel, but not very easily. My extruder and a flat surface for working with slabs could get me by...

[GEP]

I’m having issues with my wrists and elbows. I will choose to retire before I cause any permanent injury. I think I can be happy doing other things that aren’t as physically demanding. Same thing goes with materials like clay. If these supply issues start to look permanent, I think I’d rather pivot to something else. There’s only so much hassle I’m willing to deal with. I want to spend my older years relaxing!

[Jeanetta]

This is a really great discussion topic!! I am thinking a lot lately about the sustainability of my most important tools- my hands/wrists!

a friend recently shared this series of exercises with me and I’m trying to get myself in the habit of doing these before and after throwing sessions. I’m  at the beginning of my Pottery journey and I’m hoping this will help me be able to throw  for longer and with less troubles down the road ….at least it can’t hurt to try.
sharing here for anyone who may be interested

Edited December 13, 2021 by Jeanetta
Autocorrect typo

[Pres]

I dealt with back issues for years after a seatbelt fracture of two vertebrae when 19. Years of pain and rough morning starts, then around 50 they just disappeared as if they were never there!

Hands and wrists seem to be good, and other than cramps at times things are going well. I follow the use it or lose it principle, in close connection to pain is a warning, not to be ignored, as so many popular guru's would have you believe.

 

 

best,

Pres

[Callie Beller Diesel]

I went for a few years without being able to work in clay, more because other things were more demanding at the time. It was NOT good for the inside of my head. Age will at some point dictate that I can’t produce on a level where I can make my living solely by selling work, but I don’t know if I’ll give working in clay up entirely. 

[kswan]

I quit rock climbing because of repeated injuries to my shoulders and tendons in my forearms, so I am careful not to overdo it when I work with clay.  @Jeanetta some of those stretches are warms ups we'd do for climbing too.  I don't work at this totally full time which helps, and I vary what I do in the course of a day to give my body a break. Climbing was much harder on my body than clay could ever be, except for hurting my back!

Sometimes I feel like I ought  to switch to woodturning instead of making ceramics! I could still create utilitarian pieces with creative touches, but I could gather my materials from my own surroundings and it would eventually biodegrade. In terms of "shortages", we have a finite amount of natural materials that are mined from the earth to create our pottery.  I feel guilty about the waste that happens when something goes wrong and a fired piece needs to be thrown away.  I also don't like the electricity use and toxic gases that are produced. I can dream about a solar powered kiln someday when I live somewhere that gets more than an hour of sun. But I am like @Pres in that I feel a mental uplift from working with clay and get excited by new ideas and good results. I try to compensate for my carbon footprint by doing what I can in other ways in my life, and I tell myself that giant factories around the world are doing much more in terms of pollution, energy and resource consumption than I am.  Is it okay to rationalize like that?  

I want to add that ceramics challenges me in many ways, with its physical construction, the chemistry involved, the myriad ways to create, decorate, and finish. There doesn't seem to be anything else like it.

Edited December 13, 2021 by kswan

[Roberta12]

As @Pres and @kswan mentioned, clay seems to keep me always thinking of a better way to make something, a way to stretch mentally that I haven't had with other mediums.  But...if my hands and health  or cost of electricity or whatever wouldn't allow me to continue, I would probably spend more time with textiles.  I love to sew.  Another art that has always fascinated me is printing.  Lino cutting, all that.    And Thank you to @Jeanetta for the exercises.   I will try to incorporate those!!  

Roberta

[Denice]

Years ago I watched on interview with Ruth Duckworth  that inspired me to work with clay until the end of my life if I could.  She was in her studio sitting comfortably and smiling at the interviewer as he asked her questions.  In the middle of the questions she excused herself and said her kiln needed a little reduction.   She picks up a few small sticks of wood and throws them in the kiln when she opens the door.   She sits back down, tells the interviewer that the kiln is taken care of  and smiles.  She was so comfortable and happy in her studio.  I wanted to have that in my old age.    Denice