mel jacobson on sat 18 dec 10
i praise it every day. it was the death
of serious art that drove me over the hill and i turned
to clay full time. 1960's. i wanted to be a serious painter
but what was going on made me sick.
why clay?:
think about it...it has serious historic value. we come from
a long line of men and women who loved clay, craft and
function. there is a sense of pride in work.
there are rules. yes, rules. recipes, hundreds of years old.
tools that work. kilns, skills, and, you cannot fake it. and
clay people seem to love sharing what they know.
hard to talk about pots, you have to make them. and, if you
do it wrong..they fall apart. or, your house burns down.
it is the source of life...fire, earth and water. one has to study
and know what you are doing. you develop skill over time and
you always get better. you cannot fake it. and, in most cases
the society around you respects you and admires your ethic.
and fake is the key word. one day you are an auto mechanic
then you weld six bumpers together and you are a famous
sculptor. hmmm, nothing against a good bumper, but i have
mmmm, doubts.
a potter becomes a chemist, designer, thermo-dynamic fire man.
you become a sales person and your own promoter.
it sure beats pissing in a soda can, setting on a pedestal at
the walker art center and trying to convince folks you know
what you are doing. it is often faking it.
there are many serious, hard working artists in this world.
we praise them. we respect them. but, the fakes are like
the guy pissing in the punch bowl. `we can see them doing
it...shame on you.` it is really hard to put `on` an old crafts person.
we have seen it all, over and over...it is still fake.
mel
and, minnesota is the land of jesse ventura and al franken.
just think about it. someone voted for them.
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
Fred Parker on sun 19 dec 10
I grew up in the Deep South and, for many years, actually fell for the
Hollywood stereotypes of my region, almost believing we were just a bit
lower on the food chain than our more enlightened countrymen elsewhere.=3D2=
0=3D
Idiotic panderings by fellow Southerner Andy Griffith (which continue tod=
=3D
ay)
didn't help.
Then a few years of military service gave me opportunities to sample othe=
=3D
r
regions, including New England. Later, a career offered samples of almos=
=3D
t
every state in the United States. What did I learn? This:
It is wise to avoid being too smug about one's favorite region. Idiots,
racists, pompous asses, the prejudiced, the ignorant, the arrogant,
rednecks, doofusses, blowhards, the holier-than-thou and a good sprinklin=
=3D
g
of miscreants and felons are everywhere in just about equal proportions.=3D=
20=3D
Also, grits cannot hold a candle to the disgusting regional dishes the
locals of other regions savor, so shut up already when you order breakfas=
=3D
t
in the South and a helping comes along with your eggs. Like the sprig of=
=3D
curly parsley on your plate, you don't have to eat it.
Fred Parker=3D20=3D20
On Sat, 18 Dec 2010 21:37:34 -0600, mel jacobson wrot=
=3D
e:
>SNIP
> and, minnesota is the land of jesse ventura and al franken.
>just think about it. someone voted for them.
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