clennell on mon 1 may 00
Jonathan casts his lure and the sleepy potter trout peeks out from
underneath the logjam and strikes at the bait. A mouth full of hooks but
still hungry.
Jonathan and I have fly cast together before. I referred a Canadian
customer to him just last week. He is good at what he does.
I guess my argument is still this. Press, cast, jigger whatever just don't
masquerade as a potter.
My neighbour presses and and throws the pressed forms. Nine people walk out
of his plant (hardly a studio) with a paycheque in their hands on Friday.
He and his wife are two of the hardest working people I know. They ship
pots all over the world- even Korea! The press is the first thing you see
when you enter the door.
Another potter in Ontario keeps his press in the garage under a tarp. His
press guy works at night. He produces three sizes of pate dishes (complete
with throwing marks) so as to fool potters. They are all different sizes
so they must be thrown- right! Potters saw thru this and ratted on him. He
produced a sworn affavadavit (sp) from his lawyer to prove these items were
indeed handmade. I believe it worked for a year and then he got the boot
from Canadas biggest craft show. He is giving a talk on how to make a
living at pots. I'm going back under the logjam.
If we got a lucrative order for hundreds of dinner plates I'm not sure if I
would give up my work to spend months on this order. I might tip toe down
the road and ask Don for help. I would however come clean with the customer
and explain how I intended to have them made. If this type of order took
over my life- I'd quit making pottery and try to get a job at the Ford
plant. great wages, dental plan, pension and all the boredom of factory
life. I'd spend the weekends making my pots.
Cheers,
Tony
An analog man in a digital world.
Tony and Sheila Clennell
Sour Cherry Pottery
4545 King St.
Beamsville, On.
Canada L0R 1B1
http://www.sourcherrypottery.com
905-563-9382
fax 905-563-9383
| |
|
