mel jacobson on wed 20 aug 03
in my opinion, there should be some standards.
when i teach people to throw, there is only one
way. my way. but, i have had years of experience
teaching throwing. and, i know it is a good method.
my students learn fast, have great skill, and can
conquer some difficult skills in a few months. and when
they can conquer those skills, they are very happy indeed.
there are some very clear right and wrong ways to
do everything. sending students to a wheel with
bad information, allowing them to just experiment
and `let the clay teach them` is total bullshit.
it is about clear, well defined technique.
some teachers have no idea what to teach..then
bad information is passed. the student does not win.
the student is left hanging in no mans land.
i am the potter i am today because warren mackenzie did
not let folks play on the wheel. he had tasks for us to
learn. technique and skill. from those skills came creativity.
most folks under 20 do not have a clue about creativity and
self anyway. they learn skill so they can advance to adult creativity.
that does not mean that students are dumb..far from it.
they have potential energy. but, without experience it is always
potential energy.
mr. uchida sure as hell did not let me play.
i had very clear instruction...and there was only one
way to do it...and i did it...just that way.
if my friend anne was to teach me to knit.( a senior craftsman that i swim
with)..she would have very clear instructions for me...i would not play
with needles and yarn. `just see what you can come up with`.
it would be very precise, by the numbers instruction.
i imagine i could learn that very well with her instruction.
(not planning on adding knitting to my resume`.)
i can spot a hopkins high school thrower any place in the world.
many college teachers in the area know in minutes that it is one
of my kids. they have skill. also, they have a method.
far too many folks think that throwing is art...b.s. it is all skill.
when those skills are in order, you have control of the clay...man
can you ever do fine pots...any pots, big, small, tiny...huge.
i love creativity. i love adventure on the wheel...i love to design
and make things i feel passionate about. but, teaching
the wheel is clear, precise and by the numbers.
my numbers.
each student takes that information and adapts it to their
own style and body shape. they have free will....once they
have basics. but, far too often, students to not have any
sense of the basic skills needed to throw on the wheel.
that is total failure and misery.
hand building...a different story.
it is more demanding...it is more difficult.
if you abuse the rules, the piece will fall apart.
play is wonderful thing for the mind.
creativity abounds in playful activity.
it is not however, how you create muscle memory that will serve
you the rest of your life.
riding a bike, floating in a lake, centering clay.
they are things learned with feeling. once learned they
stay forever.
mel
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: my.pclink.com/~melpots
or try: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
new/ http://www.rid-a-tick.com
Susan Setley on wed 20 aug 03
In a message dated 8/20/03 7:35:01 PM, melpots@PCLINK.COM writes:
<<
there are some very clear right and wrong ways to
do everything. sending students to a wheel with
bad information, allowing them to just experiment
and `let the clay teach them` is total bullshit. >>
But there's something in between "Just do it any way you want, even though
you're a beginner and have never sat at a wheel before"
and
"I know the only one and true way."
That said, if Mel told me how to throw, I'd listen. :)
But I did take a class from someone else, who knew the "one and only way."
The first class we were to do nothing but center clay on the wheel, coning up
and down. Unfortunately my clay was stiff and dry. By the end of my class I had
a repetitive stress injury that took a year to heal.
I open the way someone else said, opening and pulling in one move. Of course
sometimes I have to do it more than once because I left the bottom too thick.
I also compress the rim sometimes as I throw, depending on all sorts of thin
gs. Neither of these are things teachers taught me, but they work for me.
I'm not a professional, and even as an amateur I have a lot to learn, but I
reall think there's something between "my way or the highway" and "any which
way you choose (with no experience at all)."
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