artimater on wed 28 mar 01
I make as many pots as I can....I don't work on weekends usually =
because weekends are when I play....Also, like Alisa, I'm the one who =
"doesn't work" so there is always a list of important stuff that has to =
be done....One of the first years I worked in clay I did over 1000 pots; =
now I do less but I think the pots are better...I can throw maybe 50 =
teabowls in a day if I'm allowed to just throw all day....Instead of =
weighing out the clay ahead I just tear a hunk off(if I thought the last =
one was a bit small I grab a bigger hunk and visa versa)....When I start =
I only think "teabowl"; then as the work progresses I fill in the =
details....Say the clay centered a little wider than usual I might take =
it as a sign to make the foot a little wider....Or maybe I will decide I =
want a really small foot on this one, so I make the foot smaller...The =
point is I decide as I go....At each point in the process you can ask =
yourself "What are the things I can do to the clay at this stage? and =
then "Which of those things do I want to do to this pot?" ....I'm also =
thinking about glazing, like "do I want to define a rim on this so I can =
change the glaze color at this area"....There must be a hundred things =
you can do to a teabowl while you are throwing it....The ones you pick =
and even the order you pick them determines the outcome.....With 10 =
numerals you can make an infinite number of numbers...So I see no need =
to try to remake the last one...I may think "I liked that thick rim on =
that last one," but I still would vary the other decisions along the way =
and the end result, while it might have a thick rim, might not look =
anything like the last one...The best way for me is just doing and not =
really being conscious of deciding anything....I don't think, "I'm going =
to make the rim thick," I just make the rim thick....The more pots you =
do the more decisions you get to make....so like 198593438 was real nice =
so lets try 198593432....All these decisions and questions also apply to =
trimming and carving and glazing....so I see no need to try to make the =
same one again....been there done that
I too have a room full of guitars and one next to me as I type...I =
recorded my music on a cheap recorder one time and it scared me so bad I =
didn't pick up the guitar for monthsHEHEHEHE....so I must make horrible =
music, but I have a helluva good time....If I can figure out a key that =
is close I can usually be jamming right along with whatever comes out of =
whatever CD happens to be in the machine...Jimi, Jimmy, Stevie....I've =
had great jams with all of em....I just get the rhythm going and my =
hands seem to know when to go higher and lower....Sometimes I totally =
amaze myself(LONG JIMI JAM), sometimes I can't find the key, sometimes I =
wonder if I am just playing the same song along with all the songs...I =
can't explain what happens when I play because I don't know...I know the =
more I play the better I get...
Music and clay are just two mediums...I credit the sign biz with =
making me unafraid to work in any medium an idea might require...I pity =
people who have been told, "You work in clay," or, "You are a =
photographer," etc.....I am an artist....An artist's job consists of =
changing the state of a material. It doesn't matter what material, only =
that you keep working....The more you do the more you can bring to the =
next project; the more questions you can ask yourself and the more =
answers you are armed with...I would never work in the manner I did when =
I was a teenager, but I made fine art then as much as I do now....
As for "good" or "bad", I don't worry about it...I give everything =
to a piece that I think it needs when I'm doing it...I may think when I =
am done, "Next time I will" but I don't throw it away even if I'm not =
real happy with the outcome....I've found that the best time to judge a =
piece is when the battle has grown long cold....I have pieces that have =
maintained a prominent place in my environment for 20 years....Such a =
piece I know is a "good " one.....Some of them that I think are real =
singers when I'm finished end up out of sight in a short time...
As for "making a living"....I'm allowed to continue working....I =
eat well...art and money don't mix...I have developed a position where =
the market has 0 influence on what I do...I make art to satisfy the need =
I have to make art...If you work at art, the art progresses...The more =
you work the greater the need to work....I hope somewhere in this long =
rambling post I answered your questions
How bout you get Mom to work and take me to Tahoe?
-artimator
"I only indulge when I've seen a snake, so I keep a supply of =
indulgences and snakes handy"
http://www.geocities.com/artimator/index.html
Clyde wrote:
I've been following this and now I've got some questions. How many pots =
do you make now that you don't reproduce them? From what I've read and =
see on your sight you do make a living at your Craft/Art. I'm also sure =
you build on your past experience. So whats the deal here. Or, may be =
I'm just saying the same thing .
There are two main loves in my art life, clay and music. In this way I =
find them very much the same
When I play a song it developes in a different way each time I play it. =
Sometimes it's perfect in my eyes (ears), and sometimes it falls short. =
I'm lately thinking that it's not better or worse, but just different. =
Either way it can fill my heart with joy. Sometimes it can make me laugh =
and sometimes it can make me cry. It's still the same song.
My pots, both one-of -a- kind or production are very much the same as my =
music only the pots are there to look at the next day. There are days =
when the pathos of making 100 mugs is just what I need and there are =
days when one is enough. After the first 12 I'm in the groove and they =
start looking better and better. Or may be just different. Either way =
each has a life of it's own. Sometimes they can make me laugh and =
sometimes they can make me cry.
I could go on and talk about flyfishing, mountain bike riding and =
raising kids but it could be just more of the same "Bead Game."
I've learned something from every pot I've made over the last 30 yrs.. =
Sometimes, I just don't remember it all.
Spring in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Red Winged Black Birds and Blue =
Winged Olives------anyone want to come and work here for a couple weeks =
at the end of July so I can go to Lake Taho with my mom?
Clyde
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