Muddfolks@AOL.COM on sun 25 jun 00
<< But beyond that, who wants/needs a grading system or a jury for every
pot? I'm homeschooling my kids just to avoid that kind of authoritarian
pigeonholing.
I'm not an accomplished potter but here's how it looks to me: some pots
are good enough to sell, and we can tell because people buy them. Some pots
are even good enough to impress potters. That matters too, and is a nice
thing to aim for. >>
As a fellow homeschooler I read a lot. I have a terrible time making
dinnerware, I can throw it and glaze it and get it out of the kiln BUT I HATE
IT!!! Weird garden art is what I love best.
I read this book called Punished By Rewards, by Alfie Kohn. It has a section
where it talks about commisioned art work. He says that a survey of artists
shows that when work is commisioned, especially if the "commisionee" has
their fingers in your pie or project, the work is harder to do and much less
satifying to the artist in particular.
Making pots to please a jury or doing something because you need the money
makes the work harder and really cuts down on the intrinsic value and thrill
you get from creating. We all have to do things we think suck to pay for clay
and necessary equipment.
In college I was a performance major on flute, it completely ruined music
for me. It was all for grades and pleasing a psycho teacher. I took up
pottery long after college. Wonder if I majored in Ceramics if I would be a
musician now??
Beth
Mudd Woman
| |
|
