David Hendley on wed 26 nov 97
There it was. The kiln was almost unloaded, but the
treasure was saved for last. A big georgous copper red bowl.
BIG.
RED.
A red potters dream about.
Clear and bright, rich and mottled, deep and subtle.
Bringing it out to get a better look, DAMN!, the
@#%^ rim is cracked!
"Why did I have to do those carvings and additions
on the rim," I think out loud, "Everything would
have been just fine if I'd left well enough alone."
I could tell that the crack opened up on the way up, widened to a
quarter inch gap, and caused the rim to slump slightly.
There was nothing good or aesthetic about this crack.
An obvious candidate for driveway fill.
But that RED!
I just couldn't do it.
"Well, I'll put it on the 'seconds' shelf," I thought, even though it
didn't meet my criterion of having only a minor fault or blemish.
I've always been too practical to throw away a pot just because
it had a minor S-crack or a single glaze bubble, and
it's been a genuine pleasure to sell (and occasionally give)
those pots to folks who love handmade pottery but are on tight budgets.
Someone will see this piece and admire it enough to
overlook the flaw.
A week later, my hoiday open house and sale, and
dozens of people are in the shop.
THE BOWL is set on the checkout table.
I look up and see the owner of a nice restaurant in town where
I have pots on display and for sale.
"This bowl is pretty," she says, "I'm gonna use it as the big bowl
on our salad bar."
I look at the bowl.
The crack is longer and wider than I remembered.
"Of course, it will be filled with lettuce, so that beautiful
red glaze will mostly be hidden," she adds.
"But not the brown rim," I think, "not the rim."
So, friends, every day 30 to 50 people will get to see 'the crack'
when they fill their salad bowls.
An extra 20 on Fridays when the Kawanis Club comes for lunch.
Well, I've learned my lesson.
Would you join me in wishing that a clumsy dishwasher is hired soon?
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
See David Hendley's Pottery Page at
http://www.sosis.com/hendley/david/
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