primalmommy on thu 22 aug 02
Here's why I know throwing multiple forms will teach you the skills:
I can't think of any job that won't instruct you on how it's done if you
keep at it long enough.
My dad always says "by the time the job is done, you've just figured out
how to do it."
I am a fledgeling potter but a born and raised hard worker, accustomed
to the kind of projects where you can't just quit when you're tired.
The second row of roofing shingles is nailed straighter and faster than
the first; by the third row you have shortened the distance from nail
belt to shingle knife; by the fourth, the hammer is part of your body,
your hands are doing the job and your head is free to see the "bigger
picture". By the time the roof is done you have mastered all the
variations.
The first bushel of peaches you pick consciously, one at a time, your
thoughts chattering at you with each choice, background thoughts
wandering from the heat to what time it is to the peach fuzz itching
down your sweaty collar to what you have to do later. By the second
bushel your eyes have trained themselves to find the ripe peach without
squeezing, your fingers have mastered the twist that eases each fruit
from the stem, and the bushel fills in half the time. By the third
bushel your mind has gone quiet, your focus widens out as "muscle
memory" takes over the job and you suddenly are aware of the beauty of
the curled leaves, the blue sky behind the laden branches, the sheer
benevolence of a fruit tree -- (something primal humans must have been
amazed at, food that didn't have to be chased, killed, skinned, cooked
-- just glorious sweet that drops into your palm..)
I do the same thing while canning that I do in my studio if I give it a
sufficient time commitment: I learn to get out of my own way. I put my
tools in the place where they will be used, eliminate unnecessary
motion, get into a rhythm that varies only slightly when I move from
tomatoes to peaches (mugs to bowls)...
My goal is to reach the point with pots that I have with hoeing beans,
painting a house, snapping beans, picking berries - seasonal jobs for
me, but every year the "remembering how to do this" warm-up period is
shorter, and the skills my hands remember remain...
I am relearning what mel taught us at clay boot camp... what my kids are
learning: that you have to shoot failed baskets, play scales on the
piano, boring and repetitive, over and over until the skills are
automatic -- then you can make the next step, and eventually, when you
have all the tools in your toolbox, you can compose.
Yours, Kelly in Ohio... amazed how the most unrelated things I do turn
out to be about pottery after all...
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Janis Young on fri 23 aug 02
Thank you, primalmommy. As a new potter who usually
feels clumsy and nervous at the wheel, you've reminded
me of how clumsy and nervous I was at the wheel of a
car at 16, whereas now of course I drive so
automatically I often don't remember how I got where
I've ended up.
And I guess I wasn't born in the kitchen either,
cooking 3 or 4 things at once and knowing they'll all
be done properly and end up on the plate at the same
time. But I do it every day.
So all I have to figure out now is how to find some
time at the wheel every day as I'm making almost no
progress as a Sunday potter.
Janis
--- primalmommy wrote:
> Here's why I know throwing multiple forms will teach
> you the skills:
>
> I can't think of any job that won't instruct you on
> how it's done if you
> keep at it long enough.
> My dad always says "by the time the job is done,
> you've just figured out
> how to do it."
>
> I am a fledgeling potter but a born and raised hard
> worker, accustomed
> to the kind of projects where you can't just quit
> when you're tired.
>
> The second row of roofing shingles is nailed
> straighter and faster than
> the first; by the third row you have shortened the
> distance from nail
> belt to shingle knife; by the fourth, the hammer is
> part of your body,
> your hands are doing the job and your head is free
> to see the "bigger
> picture". By the time the roof is done you have
> mastered all the
> variations.
>
> The first bushel of peaches you pick consciously,
> one at a time, your
> thoughts chattering at you with each choice,
> background thoughts
> wandering from the heat to what time it is to the
> peach fuzz itching
> down your sweaty collar to what you have to do
> later. By the second
> bushel your eyes have trained themselves to find the
> ripe peach without
> squeezing, your fingers have mastered the twist that
> eases each fruit
> from the stem, and the bushel fills in half the
> time. By the third
> bushel your mind has gone quiet, your focus widens
> out as "muscle
> memory" takes over the job and you suddenly are
> aware of the beauty of
> the curled leaves, the blue sky behind the laden
> branches, the sheer
> benevolence of a fruit tree -- (something primal
> humans must have been
> amazed at, food that didn't have to be chased,
> killed, skinned, cooked
> -- just glorious sweet that drops into your palm..)
>
> I do the same thing while canning that I do in my
> studio if I give it a
> sufficient time commitment: I learn to get out of my
> own way. I put my
> tools in the place where they will be used,
> eliminate unnecessary
> motion, get into a rhythm that varies only slightly
> when I move from
> tomatoes to peaches (mugs to bowls)...
>
> My goal is to reach the point with pots that I have
> with hoeing beans,
> painting a house, snapping beans, picking berries -
> seasonal jobs for
> me, but every year the "remembering how to do this"
> warm-up period is
> shorter, and the skills my hands remember remain...
>
> I am relearning what mel taught us at clay boot
> camp... what my kids are
> learning: that you have to shoot failed baskets,
> play scales on the
> piano, boring and repetitive, over and over until
> the skills are
> automatic -- then you can make the next step, and
> eventually, when you
> have all the tools in your toolbox, you can compose.
>
> Yours, Kelly in Ohio... amazed how the most
> unrelated things I do turn
> out to be about pottery after all...
>
>
>
>
_______________________________________________________________
> Sign up for FREE iVillage newsletters
> .
> From health and pregnancy to shopping and
> relationships, iVillage
> has the scoop on what matters most to you.
>
>
______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
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>
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