JMELCHIO@VUNET.VINU.EDU on sat 1 mar 97
Recently my nephew and I were talking about the pleasure of having a special
handmade coffee mug. Having a cup that you really like to look at and touch as
well as drink from can make your morning cup of joe (or anything anytime) a
meditation. So often we're in a hurry and don't notice the simple everyday
pleasures that bring meaning and order into our lives. Just before writing
this I had the pleasure of looking deep into the beautiful copper red of my
Ron Peake mug that hundreds of times has delighted and inspired me while I
slowly sipped my coffee. And my breakfast cereal tasted much better eaten out
of my Jan Lipuma bowl. Over the years I've been culling through my dishes,
keeping only those I find beautiful or provocative in some way. My goal is to
make each simple everyday act of eating a celebration of life, and to make
dishwashing a time of mindfully caring for beautiful objects rather than an
unpleasant task to be hurried through. When I break something, inevitable in
the process of everyday use, it's like a small death. I mourn the loss and add
the shards to the heap by the cellar door. I wish I could say that my life is
so perfectly ordered, but getting to this is a slow process. As a potter, my
hope is to make the kind of cups that will encourage people to slow down and
become more aware of themselves and their connection to the world around them.
Isn't this what art is about?
Jeanne Melchior--rural Southern Indiana
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