Linda McNary on sat 15 mar 97
I attended NAU 10 +1 in July of 1996 and I must issue a warning! It has
the potential of changing your life! As a fairly direct result of that
fabulous two weeks in Flagstaff, (it was my first woodfire experience) I
quit my job as director of graphic design at a small, private, midwestern,
liberal arts university and began my own free lance graphics business out
of my home to be able to have the time/flexibility to pursue my passion for
clay. It's only been three months and startup is a little slower than
expected/hoped but that simply means more time for my clay!! Without a
monthly paycheck, money (the vast sum that one can always expect with a job
in higher ed, do I jest?) is tight, but the contentment and sudden
reduction of stress, not to mention my ability to manage my own time (i.e.,
I can stay in my studio until 3 a.m. with no "next morning" consequence) is
just too good to be believed!
Being a small part (there were 230+ participants) of firing those two
venerable kilns-a 36 ft, 3-chamber noborigama and a 20+ ft amagama- with
folks like Don Reitz, Paula Rice, Don Bendel, Jim Leedy, Aaron, Richard and
a ton of others; and then being able to spend the next week watching the
workings of and talking to a gymnasium full of the likes of Toshiko
Takaezu, Dan Anderson, Rudy Audio, Don Reitz, Frank Boyden, Bruce Howdle,
Yokio Yamamoto, etc. (I know I'm forgetting many significant others) was an
experience of a lifetime! It wasn't all perfect-the dormitory is not
air-conditioned and it neared 100 degrees one day, and 230+ attendees is a
lot o' folks to manage in the requisite rhythm and attention of a woodfire.
So if you are ready to chop, split, haul, stack, stoke, sweat, chop, split,
haul, stack, stoke, sweat, chop, split, haul, stack, stoke, sweat, chop,
split, haul, stack, stoke, sweat and REALLY believe it is great fun, then
this is for you! My work colleagues thought I had absolutely lost my mind
to spend my vacation doing this and loving it! So here I find myself much
poorer, but much, much happier.
Now that I have your attention... if anyone has leads on graphic
design/desktop publishing needs out there, I have Mac & modem, so no need
to travel. Credentials and samples happily provided. And... see you at
NCECA!
Oh, yes, by the way, you can call (520) 523-3471 (Linda Stromberg) at
Northern Arizona University for more info on the woodfire conference.
Linda McNary
L Mac Design
| |
|
