tony clennell on sun 26 aug 12
I found Johnnie's Britts Penland topic interesting and it caused me to
reflect on who and when they gave advice and how it changed. Advice
from those that sit in easy chairs for people with not so rosy
circumstances doesn't wash down all that well with me. You can see
tone change on Clayart depending on personal circumstance. Johnnie B
made me feel like a crumb when he had a soft chair as Penland
Administrator and I was a self employed artist. Johnnie is now a self
employed artist and he is in a bad mood ( for all I know he is
attached to a Dentist, Doctor and or a trust fund but by tone I figure
not). I figure he has tasted the soup kitchen and doesn't like it.
Kelly went AWOL because of the right wing faction of Clayart when her
ole man was out of a job and bennies. Both worked their buns off to
stay afloat. She got herself in a real foul mood and quit. Now hubby
is employed and she is back feeling a bit more cheery. She is a
friend and I welcome her back. I was mean and nasty when my back was
against the wall. Stef said something to the effect that poverty isn't
glamorous. I know that she knows.
John Britt has written the best book on high fired glazes- bar none.
Where ever I go that he has taught I hear nothing but praise. John is
the real deal. So he gets under the cushion of those that sit in easy
chairs. I've told him him he needs to self publish a book on Cone 6
glazes(that's where the market is). When he rakes in the doe, rae me
he might be as nice as me.
Off to sit in an old wooden French Bistro chair just to not get too
comfy with myself.
Ciao,
Tony
--
http://smokieclennell.blogspot.com
James Freeman on sun 26 aug 12
On Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 6:15 PM, tony clennell wro=
te:
I found Johnnie's Britts Penland topic interesting and it caused me to
reflect on who and when they gave advice and how it changed. Advice
from those that sit in easy chairs for people with not so rosy
circumstances doesn't wash down all that well with me.
Tony...
I'm not sure what you are driving at, but how do you suppose the folks in
the easy chairs got there? While I am sure a few live off of grants or
trust funds, most of the rest got there by working their asses off, by
taking risk, by forgoing wants and desires today in order to have a chance
at greater rewards tomorrow.
Everything in life is the result of choices and decisions we make, spiced
lightly or liberally with luck. We cannot control luck, including the
circumstances of our birth. Everything else is under our control. If we
chose the safe path of working for a wage, what sense does it make to be
angry that we will never earn the windfall that might come to one who took
more risk? If we chose to work for someone else, what sense does it make
to be angry when our employer no longer needs or wants our services? If we
consciously and intentionally choose a profession that doesn't pay well,
how much sense does it make to be angry about our economic circumstances?
My parents didn't have much when I was growing up, but they never displayed
an ounce of bitterness or jealousy. They did not teach us to hate the
wealthy or to begrudge them what they had, whether earned or not. Quite
the contrary, in fact. We were taught to respect the successful people
because they were the ones who could give us a job or purchase our goods or
services. They also taught us to learn from the successful people's
example, because if we were smart enough and worked hard enough, we too
could be successful, by whatever definition of success we chose.
Advice from someone in an easy chair doesn't sit well? Who better to take
advice from than one who was successful?
All the best.
...James
James Freeman
"Talk sense to a fool, and he calls you foolish."
-Euripides
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesfreemanstudio/
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com/resources
revivalsteph@yahoo.com on mon 27 aug 12
James,
I think I know what you are alluding to in your post when you talk abou=
=3D
t
learning from successful people and asking 'how do you think the people =
=3D
in
the easy chairs got there... by working their asses off, by taking risk, =
=3D
by
forgoing wants and desires today in order to have a chance at greater
rewards tomorrow."
I think everyone likes to believe that our country is a meritocracy, wher=
=3D
e
hard work, effort, persistence, individual progress, etc is rewarded with=
=3D
,lets say, 'the easy chair'.=3D20
It is the idea that hard work brings privilege, and that if one follows a=
=3D
success model, success will follow, is not such a bad belief.
That attitude can grow into one which concludes that 'people in privile=
=3D
ge
deserve that privilege', which still doesn't sound so bad, except that it=
=3D
can bring with it a shadow attitude that deduces 'people in poverty dese=
=3D
rve
that poverty'.
The fact is, those experiencing hard times may have modeled their lives =
=3D
on
equally successful models, thought just as positively , made choices as b=
=3D
est
they could and worked equally as hard, and had successes in their own
lives. As much as I want every person who strives to make it, not all do.=
=3D
Advice from successful people can be very inspiring and heartening , it =
=3D
can
also come off as arrogant and out of touch.=3D20
I am not implying that you meant it in an arrogant way or that you have=
=3D
any of the attitudes I referenced above.=3D20
=3D20
I remind myself that this is printed word without the benefit of knowing=
=3D
or
hearing the writer in person. Written words often come off as more stride=
=3D
nt
than they really are. As i broke the post down into individual sentences =
=3D
it
read better, more like 'choose success, make good decisions and work har=
=3D
d'
and less like "i've got mine what is your problem' , which is what it
sounded like on first reading.=3D20
Stephani Stephenson
http://www.revivaltileworks.com
Johanna San Inocencio on mon 27 aug 12
Yes, but there are ones who got there by hard work, determination and =3D
personal principles, and others who got there by doing "whatever it =3D
takes" including taking advantage of others. I will gladly follow the =3D
example of someone with integrity in their ascent, but not the users.
Johanna
On Aug 26, 2012, at 8:54 PM, James Freeman =3D
wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 6:15 PM, tony clennell =3D
wrote:
> I found Johnnie's Britts Penland topic interesting and it caused me to
> reflect on who and when they gave advice and how it changed. Advice
> from those that sit in easy chairs for people with not so rosy
> circumstances doesn't wash down all that well with me.
>=3D20
>=3D20
>=3D20
>=3D20
> Tony...
>=3D20
> I'm not sure what you are driving at, but how do you suppose the folks =
=3D
in
> the easy chairs got there? While I am sure a few live off of grants =3D
or
> trust funds, most of the rest got there by working their asses off, by
> taking risk, by forgoing wants and desires today in order to have a =3D
chance
> at greater rewards tomorrow.
>=3D20
> Everything in life is the result of choices and decisions we make, =3D
spiced
> lightly or liberally with luck. We cannot control luck, including the
> circumstances of our birth. Everything else is under our control. If =
=3D
we
> chose the safe path of working for a wage, what sense does it make to =3D
be
> angry that we will never earn the windfall that might come to one who =3D
took
> more risk? If we chose to work for someone else, what sense does it =3D
make
> to be angry when our employer no longer needs or wants our services? =3D
If we
> consciously and intentionally choose a profession that doesn't pay =3D
well,
> how much sense does it make to be angry about our economic =3D
circumstances?
>=3D20
> My parents didn't have much when I was growing up, but they never =3D
displayed
> an ounce of bitterness or jealousy. They did not teach us to hate the
> wealthy or to begrudge them what they had, whether earned or not. =3D
Quite
> the contrary, in fact. We were taught to respect the successful =3D
people
> because they were the ones who could give us a job or purchase our =3D
goods or
> services. They also taught us to learn from the successful people's
> example, because if we were smart enough and worked hard enough, we =3D
too
> could be successful, by whatever definition of success we chose.
>=3D20
> Advice from someone in an easy chair doesn't sit well? Who better to =3D
take
> advice from than one who was successful?
>=3D20
> All the best.
>=3D20
> ...James
>=3D20
> James Freeman
>=3D20
> "Talk sense to a fool, and he calls you foolish."
> -Euripides
>=3D20
> http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesfreemanstudio/
> http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com/resources
ksavino@BUCKEYE-EXPRESS.COM on mon 27 aug 12
James, I don't think Tony was making any kind of grand philosophical or acc=
usatory statement about wealth and poverty.
He was just observing -- in that straightforward, no-bullshit way I find so=
refreshing -- that the world looks different when you're struggling to mak=
e ends meet -- than it does when you are comfortable and your bills are pai=
d. John and I are both examples, to his mind. He's known us with in feast a=
nd famine and has seen the difference in our attitudes.
In my case, I'd say it's a pretty fair assesment. For three years between J=
eff's job loss and his getting full time work last January, life got hard a=
nd kind of scary.
When the pioneers in wagon trains left the easy road and had to cross mount=
ains and ford rivers, they threw out all the stuff they thought they needed=
back in Boston -- old photos, grandma's quilt, the walnut rocker -- becaus=
e they had to redefine what they really needed to survive, and what they ha=
d the energy to keep.
That was us, broke. Life turns on a dime, and bad luck can pull the rug out=
from under even if folks doing all the right things. Stuff that had matter=
ed suddenly didn't. What mattered was seven part time jobs between two adul=
ts and struggling to pay medical bills for three kids. My sense of humor wa=
s ramped back considerably. If it didn't make me money, I didn't have time =
for it... and clayart didn't make me money. (I also had a REALLY hard time =
reading posts to the effect that "people who work hard get wealthy, the poo=
r are lazy and it's their tough luck.") I didn't have the energy for debate=
or the resilience to write ASS on my delete button and chuckle off those w=
ho offended me. And like Tony says -- armchair quarterbacking is easy if y=
ou're not the one struggling. I was a mite tetchy.
Now we are breathing a little easier and I can actually make my own pots ag=
ain, not just demos for the four places I teach. I have time for clayart an=
d I'm working hard on the tetchy, though Ohio in an election year is strewn=
with emotional and political land mines.
If I ever offer unsympathetic, "suck it up" advice to a family struggling t=
o make ends meet without going into debt, may lightning strike me and may T=
ony mock me. You don't know until you're there, what can and can't be done.=
what's earned and deserved, what's fair and unfair. I can tell you that we=
have doubled our charitable giving and community service since we have a s=
afety net again, as we can only imagine what it's like for unemployed/under=
employed people who DON'T have what we had -- grad degrees, gardens, resour=
cefulness, health, a partner, a supportive family who would have helped if =
we'd asked.
I can't speak for the ironies of John's journey. I've only walked in my own=
shoes. I do think we have to stand back sometimes and do a gut-check to de=
termine whether we're too in love with the battle to accept the peace treat=
y.
Yours
Kelly in Ohio... headed from job A to pick up kids at school, and then job =
B... still no final word on Edith.
| |
|
