Ann Hunter on fri 6 oct 00
I really appreciated Janet's post about the potter in Belgrade.
Having an e-mail from a fellow potter there made the situation more
personal. I thought of her every time I listened to news or saw
photos of Belgrade this week. I hope, Janet, you will let us know if
she is safe and convey our congratulations that Milosovic is finally
out.
I sent that post on to a friend of mine who is social studies
curriculum specialist for our schools and she included it in a packet
for teachers working up a unit on the electoral process in the U.S.
and the importance of preserving the right to free elections and
orderly transfer of power.
Off topic? Sometimes the topic is not what we think. Let's see if I
can make the connection. Okay, I make these mugs (or whatever), by
hand, one at a time. If I share one with you, we have closed the gap
between us, across the table or across the planet. It's been a long
time since I read Martin Buber's book "I and Thou", but I if I am not
misremembering his concept, this craft thing helps to transform our
relationship into one of "thouness". It makes a little rapport.
Just read this quotation from Van Gogh to his brother Theo, "I tell
you the more I think, the more I feel that there is nothing more
truly artistic than to love people."
Two weeks ago I was at a show and met a woman who had been in the
first clay class I took, in the mid-70s. I didn't remember her at
all, but she knew I was still involved in clay. She had left pottery
after that brief experience, but she began to tell me how much
something had meant to her from a Don Reitz workshop. She didn't
even know his name, just "that guy from Wisconsin who did a
workshop". What he said was, " Find something you love to do, and
figure out a way to make a living doing it." She works with mentally
ill patients at a state hospital. Her passion is gardening, so she
started a program to teach mental patients to garden. And she quotes
Don Reitz to them. I think this story relates to the points above.
If not, at least it shows the remarkable power of Reitz; my kids
don't remember anything I said 25 years ago!
-Ann Hunter
Wichita Falls, TX. Getting ready for our first Empty Bowls event
here next week.
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