mel jacobson on sat 23 feb 08
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RE: Looking for Potter with Studio in the Johnston County area of North=
Carolina & Kiln Questions
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Hi Everyone:
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The spring semester ceramics II class is going extremely well. I love the=
work and I love the fact my work is improving even more! If any of you=
follow Simon Leach=92s Youtube.com videos you may have run across the one=
where he makes these wonderful olive oil jars. They are beautiful. It took=
me a few weeks of vision blanking in and out before I could have some idea=
of the moves he used to make them but I finally got the hang of it I=
believe. I am not very pleased with the first attempt I made. It had two=
bowed out sections, one at the bottom and one at the top whereas Simon=92s=
oil jars are more of a teardrop shape. My vision dropped on me before I=
could get a decent idea of how he was throwing them thus the double bowing.=
My second one turned out so much better. It is in an almost perfect=
teardrop shape with the top spout. I still need to throw the stopper and=
make a handle for it but that is coming. MOF, I should be in there now=
trimming it down but I had to catch up on some classwork for my online=
classes as well as some email. My email is piling up fast. It is as if I am=
letting everything go including my article work for this ceramics class but=
in many ways it is worth it. I never thought I would find something I=
enjoyed as much as I do writing but I have =96 throwing clay.=20
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One of the young women in my ceramics II class loves the first jar I made. I=
am thinking about giving it to her as a gift if it survives the firing. She=
is a joy and brightens my day at every class. She helped me with wedging so=
I am not tearing my back up each time I need to wedge. She also showed me=
how to mix older clay with newer clay to make it more pliable and easier to=
work with it on the wheel.=20
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I managed to make the closed bottom sections for three teapots but I have=
yet to throw the spout or attempt to cut the lid. I still need to pull the=
handle too but so much else is waiting in the wings. Last night I actually=
threw my first cappuccino mug! If I can trim it well and then add the=
handle, I hope to have it ready for firing soon. I want to learn to throw=
those consistently so I can use them at home and maybe even work out a deal=
with a local coffee caf=E9 for some consignment work.=20
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Anyhow, as for the question at hand=85. Does anyone know of a potter in the=
Johnston County area of NC? The reason I ask is that I am not sure if the=
instructor will be able to convince the college to allow him to teach a=
couple of us in an advanced class over the summer months. If not, I lose=
access to the kilns, the glazes, and his expertise. To be even more honest,=
I am not certain if there is a ceramics III class either. I am crossing my=
fingers but if I have to go all summer without access to a kiln I think I=
will go nuts. It reminds me so much of what my life was like when my vision=
began to dim on me and when the symptoms of lupus and Sjogren=92s began to=
rear their ugly heads. The mind is willing but the body simply will not=
cooperate. My mind and body is willing to throw work but what good will the=
work be if I have no way to bisque fire, glaze, and fire again? It is my=
hope to find someone with a kiln that lives close enough to me that I can=
reach the studio. I have a wheel at home and I will have a chuck soon. I am=
borrowing the one from class studio until Tuesday=92s class along with a=
nice trimming tool. My only income is from social security disability=
income and what little I earn from freelance writing but I am more than=
willing to pay to use the kiln and even glazes until I know what to buy. We=
should be working on glazes soon but my education prior to ceramics II was=
the result of my gram teaching me on a kick wheel in her studio some three=
decades ago. Because of my age at the time, she did not allow me to work=
around the kiln or the glazes so this is new territory for me. I may be=
blind or rather what people refer to as a low-partial since I do still have=
some residual vision but I will admit openly and up front that I cannot=
rely on my residual vision because it often disappears on me because of the=
retinal eye disease and lupus. If it is any consolation, I have been in the=
class studio since January 9th two days a week for three hours at a time,=
sometimes more when I am fortunate (grin) and I have yet to trip, fall, or=
knock anything over. I can travel within the studio and within the art=
building itself without the use of my cane since I had the instructor and a=
few students take me around a couple of times for me to learn the layout of=
the building. I can go from the studio to the coffee machine room, the=
studio to the vending machine room, and from the studio to the front door=
and a back door to the art building where we go to smoke without my cane.=
My work is sitting on a specific table along with my things. I have a=
locker with stuff in it; however, I cannot lug the clay back and forth from=
the table to the locker because of the sheer weight. I cut what I need at=
the table then take it to the wedging table before going to one of three=
wheels that my personal pottery bats fit without damaging the bats. The=
Creative Industries bats that are in the classroom tend to have some kind=
of give or lowering motion that is extremely slight but enough to knock my=
work out of balance so I opted to bring my own bats to class. The=
instructor found two machines that my bats fit on well so I use one of the=
two machines when I am working. The machines in the class studio are Shimpo=
Whispers though they are anything but whispery. The one I have at home is a=
Shimpo RK Whisper and it is whisper quiet.=20
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Transportation is my biggest problem right now. The car my daughter was=
driving lost another transmission. It has something to do with the make and=
model. This is the second time her transmission has gone out. She should=
have a new one by Monday if all goes well but I would recommend everyone=
staying away from the Ford Taurus models, particularly in the 90s. We found=
others who are having similar problems with transmissions in that type of=
car. She is probably going to purchase a 2007 or 2008 Mazda 6 but nothing=
is written in stone yet. I will have to work around her work schedule=
unfortunately since I have nobody else I can depend on to get from point A=
to point B.=20
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Also, if anyone has any idea about affordable used kilns, I would be most=
interested in hearing about them. I really don=92t have anywhere to put one=
but I keep hoping. I hang onto the old saying that when a door closes, a=
window opens. Perhaps a window will open for me even if it is in the form=
of a small crack.=20
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If you have any information about used kilns or potters with studios in the=
Johnston County area, please email me privately at=
paise@removethisearthlink.net.=
Remember to remove the spam fighting words in my email address.
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Warmest regards to all and have a great weekend,
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Sam aka Paisley Place
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from minnetonka:
website http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart site:
http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
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