David Hendley on wed 14 feb 01
Arti is right on about making tall tumblers in Texas.
There's nothing worse than trying to have an ice cold
Dr. Pepper and the whole can-full won't fit in your
ice filled cup.
Many cafes here serve iced tea in quart mason canning
jars or in equally-sized plastic 'Texas Ware' glasses,
made in Oak Cliff (old part of Dallas, the yang of
North Dallas' ying).
Heck, it's 75 degrees here today, and the area around
my shop is a sea of yellow from all the blooming daffodils.
I noticed it was 17 below in Fargo this morning...
As for my tea bowl making 'duty', all this talk has just
about got me pumped up to make some teabowls.
I would also suggest that Lois and Carrie try their hands
at some teabowls. They may just like what they make, and
they will probably end up being authentic 'American' teabowls.
I would be very happy to have one of the John Logan
tribute bowls. They are a great collection, and I
know they would be even better when fondled.
If you want to pick one for me, Arti, remember that,
even after all these years, a good copper red will
always turn my head.
I am really pleased that the John Logan bowls are not
for sale, but are being given away. I don't know if
you remember, Arti, but when you first told the story
about the clay and asked for pricing guidance, I said
that 'free' was the only reasonable and logical price.
As for a little more about John Logan, he was my role
model for grit and determination.
Like many (most) of us, he 'fell into' making pottery and
moved forward with all his enthusiasm.
There was a 'shoe-string operation' clay business in Ft. Worth,
and John bought it.
He promptly got his arm caught in the industrial pugmill
and lost the arm up to the shoulder.
Those who counted him out were dead wrong. Six months
later he was back pugging clay, like nothing ever happened.
That was in the late 70's, and he never quit making clay
until the day he died in December 1997.
Through the years, the business moved several times
(can you picture the amount of work involved in moving
a clay business?), and John taught himself to throw with
one arm. In fact, he could do just about everything for
himself, from unloading a truckload of clay to loading the
clay into the pugmill hopper. The last time I visited him,
Central Freight showed up with an order of 4 Clay Boss
wheels for him. I tried to help him unload the boxes, and
he told me to sit down, 'relax, I got it.'
Finally, the story starts to sound like an Old Testament Job
tale. He suffered a heart attack at a young age; back to
work after a short recovery. The next time I saw him, he had
a buzz cut and informed me that he had cancer. No big
deal, back to work once the chemo treatments were over.
He seemed to be doing fine, and then the next heart attack
got him at age 55.
Besides pottery, John was also an enthusiastic gardener,
and grew acres of vegetables every year. He supported
potters by buying their work and working for the Texas
Potters and Sculpture Guild.
So, Arti, has anyone taken you up on the $100 offer to come
stay at your house?
I need a place to stay, since I forgot to buy my wife a
Valentine's Day gift (pottery just doesn't do the trick anymore)
and she will probably bolt the door when I go out for my
evening walk.
I can be there in 2 hours, I'm hungry, and I have cash.
--
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com/
----- Original Message -----
From: artimater
To:
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2001 3:38 PM
Subject: David's duty
I live about a hundred miles from David and I'd say he learned to make
tumblers(another nice easy form with no handles!!!!) out of self
preservation, not duty.....The summers here require a tumbler full of
something with ice within reach at all times....A good tumbler has to hold
the entire contents of a coke can and lots of ice or it is a juice
cup(another easy form with no handles).....I hope he didn't send the Mayor
juice cups....It sort of sounded like it from the description Mel gave......
About the tribute.....I made teabowls to stretch the clay ...I only had
so much ....I would have made shot glasses(hate that word)....errrrr....
medicine dispensers but I really don't know much about John's medicinal
requirements.....and besides teabowls are kinda symbolic due to their
history.....Sort of a potter's red badge of ceramics.....Same thing with the
red glaze.
David, If a tumbler would make remember John better....I got plenty to
choose from.....If you want a teabowl go by my site with the numbers and
pick one out.....I owe you one cause you helped me much with story behind
the man.....I didn't even have his name right, and you had good
stories......got any more?
BTW... thanks to all those that told me they enjoyed.....In the next
few months I plan to get a lot more stuff up there(you know I'll let you
know)
Always can find a little mud on me somewhere..........
As for my price.....The Logan Tribute bowls are not for sale....I do have
about 1000 others(all different) that you can have for $50 each.......I
often give them away as calling cards in hope that the great unwashed will
experience the real thing and come begging for something more substantial
Also, for $100 dollars cash I will let you follow me around and watch
me work.....better yet; watch me live.....you can sleep on the couch and
maybe get some of Gloria's GOOD cooking served up to you on Kickass
pottery....And check out the 12+(always+) roses in the handcarved vase!
artimator
artimator@earthlink.net
| |
|
