mel jacobson on tue 13 oct 09
i would have to teach a hundred kids a year to throw
on a wheel.
one has to be very careful and have lots of images
for kids to focus on. and, we had a standard, that
meant they all would learn how to do it well.
i had kids stand behind me while i did a demo.
they would lean on me, tuck under my arm..get close.
but, they saw me makes pots the same way they would
see the clay on their wheel.
advanced kids would sit in front of me...around me.
they knew how to work the wheel, they just wanted to
see new kinds of pots being made.
i had rules. lots of them. none of this...`oh, the clay will
teach you...i will be in my office.`
nonsense.
we all threw the same way. all of us.
only in rare cases where a kid had an awful time
with lefty issues, or visual issues did we change the
scheme.
you learn the style, then you adapt and change as
you get better and better. but, you are at a great advantage
when you are in a real craft system.
when i threw uchida pots, for him, all day...i threw uchida
pots. i did not have the choice of saying...`i really like this
look better`. try that for a day and i would have been
on the plane going back to minneapolis/st. paul. mn. usa.
mr. uchida has strict standards of excellence, we all followed
them.
i faced all of my wheels in the school room facing walls.
yes, facing walls. it gives privacy. i built low/four foot high
walls coming out into the room. stuck wheels facing the wall.
when you have kids seeing each other, then the party starts.
throwing clay down shirts...etc. they threw pots against a blank wall.
30 wheels...all facing walls.
new kids could sorta hide, not be embarrassed when the failures came.
we had a big window in the clay room. the most talented seniors
got to place the wheels against the windows...prime location.
and yes, we had a ranking system. top ten, top twenty.
b squad. kids would work hard to make the varsity...it was a real
pride thing. (new education, everyone is top ten, everyone is
varsity...and, we are really cooperative....bs.) pride in accomplishment
is the real motivator. ask any great choir director: the harder the
song, the more motivated the choir becomes, the harder they work
to make it great. pride in work.
i loved to joke and tell stories.
like this:
i would make a ten pound donut. just a thick crappy pot..then
tell them i would save it, it would take ten days to dry, have no purpose,
`but, i like it.` and then say...`you will make this pot too, it has
no purpose,
and you `don't like it`.` i don't fire donuts.
they got the point. `i will let you know when you make pots worthy of
being in fire.`
nothing is more exciting than a kid running across the room with
a well thrown pot, yelling `mel, can i fire this one?`...`yes, of course.`
it is called `real achievment`...we don't make it up. it is about standard=
s
made, reached. they all understand that. that is how pride is created.
i would use kelly's line all the time.
`what are you worried about? your work is lousy, but it will get better.
look around you....the seniors made pots just like you, when they
started. relax, practice and get better and better.` and they did.
i never used my pots as examples. i used the pots of other kids.
i would tell them...`my work is advanced professional, i am like
a 400 hitter in baseball. you are baby rookies. we don't compare.`
but, they see other kids great pots....they can reach that goal.
i have never believed in `do it any way you want`. i just feel that
high standards of excellence always works.
i did the same in coaching. excellence in skill, stamina and courage.
it always worked for me...we won all the time. 215 wins, 4 losses.
8 state champs, and 7 runner ups. in a row. we taught swimming
first, diving skill first, then stamina, and courage came because they
knew how to swim better than the other guys. and of course they
were far better conditioned.
just like making pots.
make 10,000 you get to know what you are doing.
make six, hmmm not so important.
in the first years it is never art, it is skill and training.
art is intellectual and can be learned.
training is taught, and practiced. motor memory developes.
child art is natural, they just do it.
adult art is much different. it would be nice if
we could go back, but our brain is far different.
some like nils are trying to get people to see and do
things in a different way. get back to natural art.
it is a noble effort. it will work with some, many are so
hard headed they will never change.
play and art is like:
mattisse, `i wonder what would happen if i?`
black background, white background, pink flowers, green flowers?
change and then change again, then put it back the way it was.
see new, try new...never with fear.
try new materials, go back to old...try, try, try.
take it apart, put it back.
never fear.
mel
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
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