vince pitelka on mon 26 mar 01
> perhaps i stand alone in this argument. but, i will continue to
> stand for the quality profession of artists.
Mel -
I have seen you teach and lecture and demo. You are one of the most playful
teachers I have seen. No one who has watched you teach or demo could ever
doubt for a minute that you take art and clay very seriously, but at the
same time you make it a great deal of fun. There is hilarity and
light-hearted fun in your workshops. It is often adult play of the very
best kind, and when people are very productive and having a lot of fun at
the same time, they are likely to be deeply affected by the experience. I
can understand your sensitivity about how the school administration and
local press treated you. I know first hand about those things, because we
have certainly seen more than our share of it here at the Craft Center. We
had to deal with so much of those attitudes during the struggle for our
survival from 1996 to 1998. We became expert at dealing with those
attitudes.
Play is an extraordinarily productive state of mind and body. It does not
have to be silly or frivolous. It can be a mature and deeply rewarding
experience.
And by the way, art is always expressive and therapeutic, and it helps keep
us all on even keel. That is a good part of the reason why we do it. It
works for us. It makes us feel fulfilled. It does not mean that we start
out imbalanced or in need of psychotherapy, but good artists are
psychologically driven to some form of self-expression, and the art the
produce is the result of that drive. Almost everyone seeks approval,
acknoledgment, accomplishment. We are lucky we have found them in art.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
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