JOE BENNION on sat 29 mar 97
Several people have asked me recently about where I am leading workshops in
the near future. I recently did a two person presentation in Florida with
Kevin Crowe. It was enjoyable enough that we decided to do it again in
Virginia in April. Here is the blurb we sent out on it. Joe the Potter
Pottery of the Heart: Ecology, Community, Economy and Meaning.
Tye River Pottery invites you to join nationally known studio potters
Kevin Crowe and Joseph Bennion for two days of demonstrations and discussions
at Acorn Inn in rural Nelson County, Virginia. Scheduled for April 26 and 27
this gathering of potters and friends will also include slide and video
presentations, walks, meditation and a communal meal with bowl exchange at
Kevin's home nearby. The demostrations will focus on Joe's and Kevin's
aproaches to large and small useful pottery intended for the household. While
making pottery the presentors will engage in a dialogue with the group about
the issues that affect our lives as potters trying to live fully and
responsibly in our industrial culture with it's consumer economy. Participants
are encouraged to bring their questions, comments and energy to this
discussion.
For details about fees and lodging possibilities call Kevin Crowe at
(804) 263-4065.
" I want to draw discussion to the responsibilities and challenges we face
as makers of pots at the edge of the 21st century. Does the world need another
mug? Is "handmade" good enough? How do we walk the fragile line that allows us
to support ourselves,our families, our communities and our
hearts...........and stay alive in a market that drives a pattern of
consumption that is consuming our environments? Can we be makers of objects in
a world over run with stuff?Is it possible to envision an alternative to
conventional marketing that enables one to be part of the essential healing?
What are the costs to us.....to the planet? How to do all this.....with Joy?
It is an option. What is the state of useful pottery in our culture .... and
who is making our culture, anyway? Our task is to blend mind, heart, soul and
the bills due... its where the magic is....not just the next sale
opportunity."
Kevin Crowe Amherst, VA
" The things that matter to me in this world are my relationship to the
Creator, my wife, our children and the land where we are raising them. Making
pottery that supports my family and serves the needs of body and spirit is the
challenge that I rise to each day. How we eat is very important to us and our
Mother Earth. I want my pots to come to the familial table with strength and
beauty. I experience profound feelings in the process of making them . I
expect that people will have feelings of their own while using these vessels.
Eating with handmade pottery should be a meditation. It represents the
completion of the cycle of growing and preparing food. This cycle encomasses
our physical, spiritual and community needs while connecting us with the
earth."
Joseph Bennion Spring City, Utah
Kevin Crowe is a veteran woodfire potter living in rural Virginia. Father,
husband neighbor, soccer coach and woodworker are just a few of his other
roles. Kevin, who fires his English and Japanese influeced pottery in a 600
cubic foot climbing kiln, has led workshops and exhibited throughout the
eastern US. He has published articles in Ceramics Monthly and The Crafts
Report that touch on the balance needed in making pottery and living in our
families and communities.
Joseph Bennion estblished Horseshoe Mtn. Pottery in 1976. He makes and sells
most of his production at the workshop. His work is included in museums and
collections throughout the US and in Europe. A frequent workshop leader and
exhibitor, Joe has published articles in Ceramic Monthly, Studio Potter and
Ceramics : Art and Perception and was awarded a NEA fellowship grant in 1991.
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