Mary O'Connell on fri 29 nov 02
Hey Guys,
Loved the comments Phil, nice twist of a phrase. I would like to add =
that sometimes a person can bump up against an idea or philosophy and =
want to jump on the bandwagon with it just because they lack their own. =
Good thing to embrace an idea and think it through so that you are =
holding onto the parts that fit you and work with those parts rather =
than the external notion of something. I think a lot of people jump on =
the "eastern idea bandwagon" because in some part the "American Culture" =
is not as cohesive and distinct. Maybe good idea to grab onto notion of =
artist working to define these things and not take the easy way out =
riding on another culture's definition. =20
Years ago I went to a workshop by Richie Breshnahan from Minnesota. I =
learned a lot from this guy in one day. He studied for sometime in =
Japan after undergraduate school with a master ceramicist because it was =
hard to find a way to develop his philosophy around the claywork he =
wanted to do in this country, art school just wasn't helping him in this =
area. Wheel thrown work is often scoffed at in the United States and =
regarded as "that craft you do" like it is beneath any intellegent =
individual obviously the Japanese don't feel this way. It hurts when =
your passion is dismissed this way and nice to be validated in such =
positive light. When he got back to the states (or maybe before) he =
began to take the ideas he learned in the east and make them his own. =
What a gift he shared with our group as I was struggling with the same =
thing at the time.
I am enjoying this thread as it is something I struggle with off and on.
Mary O'Connell
The Geneva Potter
moconnell@inil.com =20
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