LOWELL BAKER on fri 22 aug 97
Yes I did know her and many other potters in the area. I lived and
potted in Eureka Springs from 1971 until 1983-4. I too am one of
those who took the easy road to teaching, and now the even easier
road through administration. I only work a forty or fifty hour week
now before I can make my own work.
My life in Arkansas was in many respects idyllic. The flip side was
that it was a lot of very hard work. My life here at the University
is the same. I have been on both sides of this issue and the
middle. Trust me folks: the other side of the fence only appears
greener. No, I don't want to trade this job and no I don't want to
give up those experiences.
My advice to all of you is to walk the path you are on, enjoy every
inch of it, because it probably is a good path. Keep your eyes open
to the map, and have a plan. You will get somewhere.
My personal position on the path is selling some land and a house
that has many fond and painful memories. That place, where on a snowy
day you could see the wagon ruts of the old Trail of Tears only ten
feet from my house is no longer an option. The trail and the old
indian marker trees will belong to someone else. The path to Jim's
Hole on the White River will probably be forgotten. That's the
nature of life.
The nature of life should also be to make the best of every
situation. I have faculty in this department who think they are
getting a raw deal. Where is justice?????
Please for all of us, go to your studio and make something which will
make all of us question our personal competence and work a little
harder, but never, never give up. It's unbecoming.
Lowell
The University of Alabama, Itawamba Community College, The University
of Arkansas, White Oak Pottery, North Arkansas Community College,
Trail of Tears Crafts Center, A Show of Hands, Wichita State
University and Phillips University
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