Kevin H. Miller on wed 16 may 01
if this comes off as a bit of a testimonial or sermon, well, so be it. in
the last few months i've read some pretty wacky stuff here so i reckon it's
my turn.
i made six mugs and three nice cereal size bowls today -- the first time
i've been at a wheel since early last fall. i guess i had pretty much
convinced myself that making pots was not going to be happening for me
anymore -- well, at least not for a good while.
my teacher for the last three years, irene forbes, the woman who has so
graciously shared her studio with me, fed me lunch, read her poetry to me
and taught me as much of her 35 years (and then some) as a production
potter as she could -- has lou gherigs disease. she apparently has a very
slow moving form because she's had it for at least two years and is only
now beginning to experience some of the more debilitating symptoms.
she doesn't have the strength or control in her hands or the physical
energy to throw. we've done some slab work and that's been pretty cool.
seeing as neither one of us had been able to go into the studio without
getting completely unglued, this has been like a spiritual and emotional
revelation.
this morning while we were having coffee (from the mugs i bought us at the
nceca mug room), she held her slender cup and said she wished she could
make some of these again to glaze. her 'thing' is glazing. i've never
seen anyone glaze like she does. anyway, making mugs is about the last
thing i ever really wanted to do, but i told her if she could just help me
out a bit, i'd make the mugs and she could glaze to her hearts content. i
did pretty good with the tall slender shapes that she wanted but my handles
really suck. i went in her kitchen and dragged all my favorite mugs out to
the studio and looked at them while i was trying to do this impossible
thing. i've got to get better -- i don't think i can possibly get any
worse. now i know why i never wanted to make mugs though -- i was just
plain chicken about those handles!
well boys and girls, i knew if i ever did get back to a wheel again i would
have to write about it.
the moral of this story is: just because you know that you're not always
going to be able to do something is no reason not to do it just as hard and
fast as you can while you ARE able.
irene is also an incredible watercolorist and she has been painting at a
furious rate since she was diagnosed. i have a puny sort of a homepage
that i maintain as a personal portfolio. i am going to scan some of her
work and put it on my page and invite all of you to see it if you'd like.
thanks for listening
during the last few months that working has been impossible, reading
clayart has been really important. in fact, the last couple of weeks there
has been a sort of emphasis on the 'basics'. i liked that.
roberta miller
Marcia Selsor on thu 17 may 01
Dear Roberta,
Help Irene as long as you can. That is a very cruel disease and she'll
need your help.
Bless you for being there. and remember it takes a thousand handles to
get the hang of it.
-it is in the archives. I am looking forward to your posting the images.
Best wishes,
> if this comes off as a bit of a testimonial or sermon, well, so be it. in
> the last few months i've read some pretty wacky stuff here so i reckon it's
> my turn.
>SNIP
> irene is also an incredible watercolorist and she has been painting at a
> furious rate since she was diagnosed. i have a puny sort of a homepage
> that i maintain as a personal portfolio. i am going to scan some of her
> work and put it on my page and invite all of you to see it if you'd like.
>
> thanks for listening
> during the last few months that working has been impossible, reading
> clayart has been really important. in fact, the last couple of weeks there
> has been a sort of emphasis on the 'basics'. i liked that.
>
> roberta miller
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
--
Marcia Selsor
selsor@imt.net
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls/Tuscany2001.html
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls/Gallery.html
| |
|
