Michael McDowell on wed 5 apr 00
Thanks to Lori Leary for the plug she gave my site yesterday in her
announcement of Vince's "Ancient Clay" workshop in May on Pawley's Island,
N.C. My advice to Lori,
is make sure that Vince brings his guitar, and somehow work a campfire into
the program. You haven't experienced the whole Vince Pitelka until he's shared
his musical gifts with you. Then you still haven't experienced the whole
Vince, but you begin to appreciate the incredibly wide range of this man's
talents.
This summer Vince will be offering two (week long) workshops here at my place
just north of Bellingham, WA. "Handbuilding: Tricks of the Trade" from July 17
to 21, and the "Ancient Clay Workshop" from July 24 to 28. To get full course
descriptions I refer you to my web site:
http://www2.memes.com/mmpots/workshops.htm
Once you are at the workshops page, click on the title of the workshop that
interests you for the full course description and day by day breakdown of
activities. There are also links to Vince's "Artist's Statement" and "Resume",
both of which offer further illustrations of Vince's work with clay.
The web site is very good at communicating the content of these workshops, but
I feel I've been unable to fully express the context, the setting, the magic.
The workshops are small, with 10 participants at maximum. Most of the
participants either camp out here on the property in their vehicles, tents, or
in the Bed & Breakfast conveniently located a short walk across the lawn.
Vince also stays here with us. We pool our energy and resources to put
together communal lunches and dinners (we eat very well for cheap!), and most
evenings we start a little campfire around dusk. Those not totally absorbed in
clay projects after dark will gather round the fire. Vince can usually be
persuaded to bring out his guitar... So it is that in just five days we build
not just new skills, but also a little community. I don't know if I've
expressed this well, but it is GOOD! That's the only reason we are doing this
for now the fourth year in a row.
Please come if you can, and please help get out the word to others who might
be interested.
Michael McDowell
Whatcom County, WA USA
mmpots@memes.com
http://www2.memes.com/mmpots
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