mel jacobson on sat 7 aug 10
bill, your points are well taken.
here is one little part of the equation that historical
artists did not have.
derivative.
everyone sees what everyone else is doing in our modern
world.
we go to shows all over our state, country. even the world.
we have dozens of magazines with what is deemed `best`
on the cover. and dozens of images inside. month after month,
year after year.
we have facebook, internet images.
we can see it all, and copy it all.
we are influenced by professors, critics, friends and
what others tell us.
there is so much information it is almost impossible to
know what to do...that is why we have to keep going
within our own aesthetic, figure out what makes us tick
and explore it to full depth.
the above alone leads me to emphasis how important it is
to study craft, technique and materials.
as we have talked to death...so much is instant success.
ready made, take it and be a master...two weeks.
the serious, dedicated artist and crafts person will look far beyond
the derivative. they look for their own `voice`....or better stated,
a personal aesthetic. and then the exploration begins...for years.
so many try it all...quilts one year, clay the next, painting the next, and
then, oh yah, prints and photography. it is great for the new
artist, the young
artist, but at some point you have to grow up, put on big boy and girl pant=
s
and take it seriously. dedication for a long period of time. and sometime=
s
you have to block your eyes and ears from all the stuff going on.
find yourself.
as i said last week, it is not the original shock artist that annoys me,
it is the 300th with the same agenda.
it is not jackson pollack that annoys me, it is the 2,000 that copied him.
and, all think they invented art.
it is like mackenzie clones. i love warren's work, but i don't want it to
be mine. it took many years to get his voice out of my mind...`do this, n=
ot
that.` you all experience it...`THE RULES`.
I LOVED IT WHEN I LEFT JAPAN, mr. uchida said to me in so many words.
`be you, be yourself, search for your own ideas, you can never be
japanese, we trained your hands, not your mind. be a nordic, american
potter.`
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
alternate: melpots7575@gmail.com
ivor and olive lewis on sun 8 aug 10
I recall a discussion we had at a Summer School. Someone commented on the
generosity of potters who were willing to share their recipe books, design
folios and working techniques.
Someone, and it may have been our instructor, said they were always willing
to do that, but we should know that they would not say what was to follow,
what they would learn or discover tomorrow. In other words,their research
was with held until they had exhausted its value and were ready to move on.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis,
REDHILL,
South Australia
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