tony clennell on sat 5 jan 08
And I hope we all applaud the
unbelievable effort of Kelly and Tony as they take us through their
stories and struggles to get their degrees - I know I do. But you know
what, the time goes by with or without working on that degree.
Bill Sanchez
--
Thanx Bill. Your applause is appreciated but I'd rather you just throw
money! Yes, I watched time go by while I was on the sidelines
scratching my bum trying to decide.
I must be the canary in the coal mine as I talked to my colleque Bruce
Cochrane at Sheridan yesterday and he said he has just written 11
letters of recommendation for Sheridan alumni to go to US grad
schools. Normally he writes one every 3 or 4 years. Two of my former
students are at Grad schools in the US this year with a nice ride of
scholarship.and living allowance for teaching assistantships. There is
a global hunt for talent in all fields. from computers to fine art.
This talk on clayart about a sagging economy on the streets. I talked
to Tommy Wirt about this a few years ago. This canary has been mining
long enuff to know the smell of trouble.
I do however remain positive as I think there is lots of room at the
top but it will get to be a massive dog fight at the bottom . I
thought Lee's comparison of the Clayart mug exchange and Etsy was a
good one. Probably one that makes him a turd in the Clayart punchbowl
but it was a fair comparison. I looked at the mug exchange and it was
easy to see the skill levels ranged from masters to beginners.
Incidentally I hung out with Prof. Rebecca Harvey of Ohio State or U
of OHio not sure which in China for a few weeks and she said the Mfa
as a terminal degree is coming to an end. Dr. Owen Rye of Australia is
John Neely's sabbatical replacement at USU right now. Also spent some
time with Dr. Julie Bartolomew also from Oz while in china. I think
you will see the Phd's coming to ceramics in the near future.
Universities are research facilities and we are only on the fringe of
what ceramics can be.
I think they are exciting times to be in ceramics. The cream will rise
to the top.
Best,
Tony
http://sourcherrypottery.com
http://smokieclennell.blogspot.com
John Post on sat 5 jan 08
Here in Michigan I don't see colleges/universities hiring more professors.
I see many classes being taught by adjunct faculty.
Sure the adjunct faculty are required to have MFA's but they are hired
for one semester.
They get no benefits and are not on the tenure track.
In some programs there is a full professor as the ceramics department
head, but 1/2 the classes each semester are taught by adjunct faculty.
The schools could easily hire another professor but they don't because
they save tons of money with the adjunct teachers. Since the market for
teachers is shrinking, you really do have to be the cream to get the
jobs that are available.
John Post
Sterling Heights, Michigan
http://www.johnpost.us
http://www.wemakeart.org
Lee Love on sun 6 jan 08
On 1/6/08, tony clennell wrote:
>I do however remain positive as I think there is lots of room at the
>top but it will get to be a massive dog fight at the bottom .
Tony, the great majority of folks in the pyramid are the
best educated, most appreciative buyers of pottery. I don't think it
is the base that is in trouble, but folks in the middle, maybe 2/3rds
or higher up who have been squeaking by supporting themselves as
fulltime potters. You could say, the interface between where the
milk ends and the cream begins. At least, that is where the tire
meets the road here in Mashiko.
One one of the DVDs of MacKenzie and Randy Johnston, MacKenzie
differs to Randy when they were asked about students of theirs who
went on to become professional potters. Warren deferred to Randy,
because he said most of his students did not become potters. But my
thought on hearing this, was that all those students he taught are one
of the reasons the region has a large, a well educated pottery
appreciating community.
> you will see the Phd's coming to ceramics in the near future.
> Universities are research facilities and we are only on the fringe of
> what ceramics can be.
This happens as apprenticeship opportunities disappear.
I've been talking to folks who have been here during the boom times in
Mashiko. When folks were coming from all over the world, mostly baby
boomers, to do apprenticeships here.
The the availability of these opportunities have all but
disappeared. When folks stopped coming, the potters had to change
the way they do their work, without apprentices or craftsmen helping
them. (finding craftsmen to work in a master potter's studio is even
harder than finding apprentices!) So, because the apprentices
stopped coming, their studios changed so they could work without them.
I have always valued both the university systems and the
apprenticeship system.
If there are more PHDs teaching college ceramics, I bet
you there will be more grad assistants doing the actual teaching,
while the PHDs do research and publishing. I am not sure if that is
good or bad. Bad for the instructors, good for the teaching
assistants? I mean, most of us got into clay to touch clay, right?
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
http://groups.google.com/group/ClayCraft
"Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by
education." -- Bertrand Russell
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