mel jacobson on tue 11 dec 01
dream come true.
our box arrived from japan yesterday.
we have exchanged new years gifts with
dear friends in japan since 1973.
my gift each year is at least one
book of photos of pots. this year was
the honey load.
FOUR BOOKS
two are the works of mino potters...doing shino.
tea bowls galor.
one book, the complete life and work of hamada.
amazing.
i am in shock.
my own work looks like crap. should throw it all away and
start again.
i will place several of these pots (photos) on the clayart page when
i get a bit of time.
pink shino, baby blue shino, orange shino...to die for.
what a gift.
a poem, thought.
only stupid people
copy
stupid work.
look to great work.
then copy.
mel
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
Paul Taylor on thu 13 dec 01
Dear Mell
Tony is looking at his accounts you are looking at your pots and both
finding them wanting of improvement. Its nice for me not to be alone.
I was given a cataloged of Bizen pots by the manager/curator of Sevres
Museum in France . I wish wrote down her name - as usual I was too nervous
to remember it or make a note. Well Bizen has pulled the rug from under me -
" my own work looks like crap. should throw it all away and
start again". But my frustration and shock have subsided a little . I have
decided that too many changes have to be made, technology wise, to play at
that.
But something has to be done. I am going to pay even more attention to the
detail in my own pots and will have to put the prices up to pay for that but
once you have seen a new standard and understood it a little there is no
going back.
What I found more worrying is that a few years ago I made some pots with
the same sort of spirit but I did not peruse the new ideas, I lost
confidence. It was easy not to peruse a these Ideas because I also thought
there would be no market -( and there still may be no market) . Which shows
you that creativity is of no use with out confidence, and the acceptance to
see what you have done with out reference to approval. What's more is that I
have been too critical of bad sculptural shapes trying to be rescued by
interesting firing incidentals and glaze effects. In the end it blinded me
to the possibilities of more adventurous firings because I did not want to
be associated with the bad craftsmanship it so often went with. Sometimes
you pay a dear price for a little snobbery.
Any way something will have to be done to get the domestic ware more
powerful and less pretty.
I have no choice but to carry on as a potter - so the accounts will have
to keep up.
Regards from Paul Taylor
http://www.anu.ie/westportpottery
> From: mel jacobson
> Reply-To: Ceramic Arts Discussion List
> Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2001 09:18:13 -0600
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: shino lovers
>
> dream come true.
>
> our box arrived from japan yesterday.
> we have exchanged new years gifts with
> dear friends in japan since 1973.
>
> my gift each year is at least one
> book of photos of pots. this year was
> the honey load.
>
> FOUR BOOKS
> two are the works of mino potters...doing shino.
> tea bowls galor.
> one book, the complete life and work of hamada.
> amazing.
>
> i am in shock.
> my own work looks like crap. should throw it all away and
> start again.
>
> i will place several of these pots (photos) on the clayart page when
> i get a bit of time.
> pink shino, baby blue shino, orange shino...to die for.
> what a gift.
>
> a poem, thought.
>
> only stupid people
> copy
> stupid work.
>
> look to great work.
> then copy.
> mel
> From:
> Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
> web site: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
>
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