Dupre Mr Marcy M on mon 21 oct 02
What a wonderful weekend! With the current thread on "Stuck in a rut" being
bandied about, I went to a lovely farming community near Appomattox, VA for
a workshop with Val Cushing. Just what I needed for recharging nearly dead
batteries!
John Jessiman is in the beginning stages of setting up a residence program
for potters at his Cub Creek Studio, out in the farmland of Appomattox. He
has plans for about six resident potters and several visiting artists during
the year. This spring he hopes to have a visitor from Korea, and possibly
some artists from Japan later on.
John was one of Val's many students at Alfred University years ago, and now
hopes to be able to pass on what he has learned over the years to the next
generation of mudslingers. By all that I saw, that project is well on the
way.
John and his residents had just finished putting the heating unit in a small
aircraft hangar of a studio, right before this weekend workshop. This is a
serious studio area! I think he said it's 40' x 72', complete with running
water and electricity. Each artist will have ample space to work, close to
the several kilns--gas and wood--with plenty of inspirational peace and
quiet, when called for. If I could afford to quit my day job and apply to
work at Cub Creek, I'd be a vanishing spot on the horizon.
Val Cushing! He is a vibrant and instructive now as I remember him more
than thirty years ago, when I was a student at the University of Florida. I
nearly filled a spiral binder with notes, drawings, and recipes for clay
bodies and glazes. I have GOT to get me a video setup!
Val admitted to being somewhat nervous before the crowd of about 100, but I
suppose we warmed him up quickly, because after a brief period of talk (what
he called "lecture"), he made magic with clay. Along with quips and tips,
he made forms flow from his fingers, moving the clay with a Master's touch,
into shapes that talked, shapes that sang, shapes that said, "LOOK at me!"
He shared his experiences of forty years of teaching at Alfred University,
showed us his note and sketchbooks, and chatted openly with us, to the point
where we derailed his train of thought and broke his concentration.
The mark of the Master is that he recovered from his "mistakes" and made
repairs to the piece he was working on, assembling a covered vessel about 36
inches high. I learned a whole new book-load of ways to manipulate clay and
make my statement to the world. Now, to get the time to work...
Good workshop, good company, good food, good scenery, GREAT time!
Many thanks to John Jessiman, the crew at Cub Creek Studio, and to Val
Cushing for a most enjoyable weekend. I returned home tired from the
traveling (How does Val drive from New York state and still have the energy
to work as he did?), but renewed in inspiration.
If John has another workshop, sign me up right now.
Tig
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