Paul Lewing on thu 23 oct 03
on 10/23/03 8:18 AM, Alycia Goeke at Pottersway1@AOL.COM wrote:
> hollis writes:
> Of course, practically everything I made in the first five years or so of
> learning about clay is a second. And the real problem with giving away work
> in those early years - even if it's work that you're proud of - is that it
> comes back to haunt you.
Real wisdom there. I've been serious about making art for about 50 years
now, and I've made a lot of stuff I wasn't particularly proud of when I made
it, but it was OK. Most of it got out there one way or another, because
I've been making a living making art for over 30 years. I'm embarrassed by
that stuff when I see it these days, but there's nothing I can do about it.
But here's the real revelation to people who haven't been at this that long.
I sometimes see pieces I sent to juried shows, work I used on one-man show
fliers, work that won prizes. Twenty or twenty-five years later, I'm
embarrassed by that as well. And obviously I was proud of it once. I'm
glad it's this way. It means I'm always getting better. I may be harder on
myself than others, but I don't think so. And by my count, if I get one
piece per decade (yes, you heard me- one per decade) that I'm completely
happy with a decade later, I'm doing well. Even the piece I've been
featuring on my promotional literature- my signature piece, if you will- is
now 11 years old, and if I really look at it, I see so many things I don't
like about it.
So just remember that those old pieces are exactly the same as they were
when you made them. It's you who has changed, and if they embarrass you,
that's good. They should. But they're still exactly the same to the people
who love them. Just be glad they love them.
Paul Lewing, signing off for a few days for a workshop in Lawrence, KS.
Hope to see some of you there.
Jan L. Peterson on thu 23 oct 03
I've been painting for twenty years. I keep offering to take the old stuff
home and "repair the paint a bit." Sometimes I get to. Lots say no. So, I'm
stuck with looking at some mighty untidy work when I visit my friends. Jan, the
Alleycat
Alycia Goeke on thu 23 oct 03
hi tony,
you are so right and expressed what i was trying to say im my earlier post. i
just got back from a tom coleman workshop. watching him was an amazing
experience. his pots are so beautiful. in the past, many times after a workshop i
would feel depressed because my level of skill is so far behind that of the
presenters....but this time, don't know why exactly, but i didn't feel that way.
listening to tom's story and understanding the time it has taken for him...the
dues he has paid, well, you are right on the money. it is just not right to
sit around and feel less than when you started potting five years ago and this
person who is doing well and can make amazing pots has been potting for 30
years. it's not a race and really, it's not even a competition, in less you use
that term in the real latin meaning of the word which is; to learn together.
take care,
alycia
Alycia Goeke on thu 23 oct 03
hey lois,
i know what both you and hollis mean. we are known by the work we do and it
would be weird to have a lot of stuff out there that was from the first part of
our clay journey. it is amazing and exciting to see the process. i too look
forward to what my work will look like 10 years from now.
take care,
alycia
Alycia Goeke on thu 23 oct 03
hollis writes:
Of course, practically everything I made in the first five years or so of
learning about clay is a second. And the real problem with giving away work
in those early years - even if it's work that you're proud of - is that it
comes back to haunt you. Guaranteed. My mother-in-law has a dreadful mug,
with an awful handle and a turquoise speckled glaze that I made up by adding
some wood ash and cobalt carb to a studio white cone 8 oxidation glaze. More
than once I've offered to buy it back, replace it with anything she wanted,
but she won't let it go. "It's my favorite mug!" she says. Gag. So, be
careful what you don't take a hammer to.
hi hollis,
just reading through you post...i have heard so many people say that about
their early work. that is haunts them or that they are embarrassed by it....i
have saved some of my very first work and when i look at it, it looks like
something a little kid did. now, i wouldn't want a bunch of that out in the world
for sure. and...i didn't let go of any of that early early stuff. but i did
after about a year donate a bunch i had made to a pottery sale to raise money for
a community art center. i know if i would see some of that stuff i would have
to smile at the progression i have made but i guess that is the point i am
trying to make. we are artist and our work is progressive. it is a story. so for
me...and i hope for a good friend of mine in particular....who worries all
the time about her earlier work, now that she is getting more out there...i want
to be less judgmental and look at all of our work as progression. if someone
bought it, they must have thought is was worthy on some level. just like that
little piece of pottery you made in grade school, there is something endearing
about the early work. remember how excited you were when you pulled your
first bowl and how big it seemed??? funny now.
just thinking out loud....
happy potting,
alycia
Hollis Engley on thu 23 oct 03
----- Original Message -----
From: Alycia Goeke
To:
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 12:18 PM
Subject: embarrassed by early work
> hi hollis,
> just reading through you post...i have heard so many people say that about
> their early work. that is haunts them or that they are embarrassed by
it....i
> have saved some of my very first work and when i look at it, it looks like
> something a little kid did. now, i wouldn't want a bunch of that out in
the world
> for sure. and...i didn't let go of any of that early early stuff. but i
did
> after about a year donate a bunch i had made to a pottery sale to raise
money for
> a community art center. i know if i would see some of that stuff i would
have
> to smile at the progression i have made but i guess that is the point i am
> trying to make. we are artist and our work is progressive. ...
Alycia
Oh, I understand your message, Alycia. And I don't spend a lot of time
worrying about my old stuff. It's out there and that's fine; lots of people
who bought mugs and bowls from me ten years ago still love them and use
them. But those of us who make things - whether it's pots or houses or
wooden boats - are known by our work. And ideally I'd like people to judge
my abilities by the work I make today, after 15 years of making pots. This
is one of those things that's out of our control as potters, of course.
Still, I'd rather someone not look at that mug of my mother-in-law's and
say, "Oh, so that's the kind of pot that Hollis makes."
Hollis
Hatchville Pottery
Falmouth, Mass.
hengley@cape.com
Lois Ruben Aronow on thu 23 oct 03
Alycia -=20
I loved what you said about our work being a progression. It is so
true, and I absolutely can't wait to see how spectacular my work is in
5-10-20 years!
True story - when I first started working with my crawling glaze, I
made mugs for my friends for christmas (they are VERY close friends,
by the way). I was so proud, I was bursting in anticipation of giving
the mugs to them!
Lo and behold, I saw the mugs not long ago and my first thought was -
HORROR. PURE HORROR. Both for the form, and the glaze. How could I
have thought these were any good?! But the truth is - I am proud as
can be for where I am now in my work.. My friends say they will never
get rid of the mugs as they as sure they will be collectable someday,
and they also reminded me how much they enjoy using them.
Also - my husband, much to my chagrin, won't let me throw out the
first pitcher I make. It's a horrifying purple job, with a lame
attempt at carving and wax resist. Oh well.
************
Lois Ruben Aronow
www.loisaronow.com
Modern Porcelain and Tableware
Hendrix, Taylor J. on thu 23 oct 03
Ah Lois,
Mine is an unevenly glazed, handle of the wrong clay
body, drippy, paper weight for a hurricane pitcher.
Ever made one of those?
Taylor, in Waco
p.s. For me, "early work" isn't all that long ago. No
safety of historical distance here.
-----Original Message-----
From: Lois Ruben Aronow [mailto:gilois@BELLATLANTIC.NET]=20
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 4:51 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: embarrassed by early work
...
Also - my husband, much to my chagrin, won't let me throw out the
first pitcher I make. It's a horrifying purple job, with a lame
attempt at carving and wax resist. Oh well.
...
Lois Ruben Aronow on thu 23 oct 03
On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 18:22:36 -0500, you wrote:
>Ah Lois,
>
>Mine is an unevenly glazed, handle of the wrong clay
>body, drippy, paper weight for a hurricane pitcher.
>
>Ever made one of those?
>
>Taylor, in Waco
>
>p.s. For me, "early work" isn't all that long ago. No
>safety of historical distance here.
>
Early work isn't that long ago for me either - I've only been
full-time for 3 years, and picked up clay for the first time 11 years
ago. I've come a long way just in the 3 years as pro.=20
And yes, I've made those "paperweights". =20
************
Lois Ruben Aronow
www.loisaronow.com
Modern Porcelain and Tableware
The Tattoo is back!
Tony Ferguson on thu 23 oct 03
One should never be embarassed by your early work--keep it, bury it if you
have to. It is a record, an account of your stages of development. Do not
apply some standard to a process that is developmental and expect what
others have struggled for years to manifest itself in your work immediately.
We are are own worst critics, generally--the mind demands perfection without
readying its tool. Perfection is not easily accessable. It is not
accessable in any phenomenological medium which is, folks, what we perceive
is our reality. It is the effort that counts and the degree of focus that
propels you along your own pathway of maturation and development. All you
can do is give your work your best. When you do, it usually smiles back at
you--even if its with a purple tongue.
Thank you.
Tony Ferguson
On Lake Superior, where the sky meets the Lake
Custom & Manufactured Kiln Design
Stoneware, Porcelain, Raku and more
by Coleman, Ferguson, Winchester...
http://www.aquariusartgallery.com
218-727-6339
315 N. Lake Ave
Apt 312
Duluth, MN 55806
Cat Yassin on fri 24 oct 03
In a message dated 10/23/2003 5:00:44 PM Central Standard Time,
gilois@BELLATLANTIC.NET writes:
> Also - my husband, much to my chagrin, won't let me throw out the
> first pitcher I make. It's a horrifying purple job, with a lame
> attempt at carving and wax resist. Oh well.
>
I have found a perfect use for my earlier bowls (and there are A LOT of
them!) Pet bowls! I have a big box of earlier work in my shop (lol machine
shop/studio) and one day I was going through it to take most of it to the dumpster
before my sister could see I was actually throwing away my pottery. These bowls
were so bottom heavy it occurred to me they would make great dishes for the
"shop cats" that hung around the shop. They could be kicked and stepped on (by
accident or on purpose) and not even break. Of course there is the liability if
an employee breaks a foot on it, but thats what steel toe'd boots are for,
right?
-Cat Yassin
San Antonio, Tx
Tom Sawyer on fri 24 oct 03
Lois,
You wrote, "
I absolutely can't wait to see how spectacular my work is in 5-10-20 years!"
Approaching 70, I can tell you for certain, its worth the wait.
Tom Sawyer
tsawyer@cfl.rr.com
Chris Clyburn on fri 24 oct 03
I haven't been doing pottery for very long but my work has progressed very
rapidly in three years as a student. I went from making wobbly paper weight
to paper thin elegant forms. For myself, I am not that concenred with how my
early stuff may reflect on my current work siince I date everything (just a
simple year indicator but it makes for a nice record). What I have
discovered though is that when a new student comes in to learn clay work and
they start getting discouraged by how hard of a go they are having at it, I
just bring out one of my old monstosities and set it beside my recent stuff
and watch the discouragement melt from their face and be replace by a new
since of hope. So if you are in a position either teaching or like me just
being a senior student, bring out your old pieces to show to beginners...it
will lift their spirits and encourage them. Too often students only see the
work of master who have been making art for years, and we never see the
blood sweat and tears that created the master. It can be very discouraging.
So be proud of your failures, and use them to help encourage others. :-)
Chris Clyburn
Cat Jarosz on fri 24 oct 03
Embarrassed by early work ??? Oh geeze I think I might be more
embarrassed by some of my more recent work than by anything I did in the
beginning even though it is so unsophisticated and unfocused.. I can honestly
say I have celebrated every step in the long trip in clay developement. I
still have my first lidded pot and remember the day well . Yes the ole
woooooo hooooooo spin on head hollering " LOOK OUT WORLD HERE I COME"
Really happened.. true story I actually have the first pot I thru in high
school also.. its a trip and I cherish it ...
I wont say I have not cringed over some past work but when I think
about how far I have come from the early days when I could go anywhere I wanted,
use any clay body , explore every avenue possible with the equipment and
supplies on hand in the schools wow how could I ever be embarrassed with all
the choices and I was all over the PAGE working working working and loving it
all..
I am not even embarrassed by the choice to go functional pottery to build a
studio and enable me to make a small living working at something I have so
much passion for and a boss that may be tough but she dont play favorites and
is tougher on herself
. I miss the time and ability to go to other places but I have
developed a style of my own now in functional ware that at times crosses the line
into ART. I dont get to spend as much time as I would like exploring my
skill level with things you can't use since making the decision long ago but I
do try to take workshops every winter if possible if one comes near enough to
me that will challenge and inspire. PS is that tom coleman workshop awesome ?
Anyone have any heads up with his presentation?
If you have passion and love for what your doing how could you ever be
embarrassed by the work? I find that when starting out in this long trip we
have more passion than we will ever have... Just think when you look at a pot
thats imperfect of all the love and excitement you felt when you did it...
how can you be embarrassed ? Its the pots I have no love for and do by rote
that can kick me in the buttski with grief .. pots for $$$$$$$$$$$ or
the ugly glaze piles ... I remember the nuclear green firing of 93 ( kiln load
of glow in the dark dayglow functional pots 45 cubic worth ) and lately
its been the raspberry pots LOL... Sure cant dress up a nice looking pot with
ugly glazes and make me feel good about em..
I also do not get embarrassed when I try something new to me. figuring
out how something is made and doing it first before playing around with
dimensions and things to make it your pot. Learn it, conquer it and then make it
yours.
I like to think of it as I do of bowling... you bowl against
yourself. Trying to improve your style and skill against what you did last
time.. Never in competition with others just yourself. Thats a hard thing
to do but its harder to not do it ... the only competition I ever engaged
in with a fellow potter was with KNOBS.. we spoke almost daily via the
phone while working and would have what we dubbed the "KNOB WARs" my knob is
bigger than your knob LOL it was hillarious and really broke up the rote
work for wholesale...
Well I have droned on enough so will bow out of the discussion now after
my 20 cent worth. I will go to the corner and shut up now.... Warmest
regards, Cat Jarosz
Sue Leabu on fri 24 oct 03
On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 21:29:40 -0400, Lois Ruben Aronow
>And yes, I've made those "paperweights".
I would love to have made a paperweight. Mine are more certainly boat
anchors. :o)
Sue
Kalamazoo, MI
Vince Pitelka on fri 24 oct 03
If you really think about it, the idea of being embarassed by your early
work is very strange, and exactly opposite the way you should feel about it.
The work you have done over your time in clay simply represents your journey
to get to where you are now, and the fact that some of your earlier work
looks awkward or primitive to you now is strong evidence of the distance you
have come, and that is to your credit. Why not celebrate that, instead of
being embarassed. I am really surprised that anyone would respond that way.
Someone, somewhere, liked your work enough to either buy it, or to be very
pleased with it when it was given as a gift. And now you wish it wasn't out
there? What is that all about? I have been following this thread, and
frankly I am startled by all the people whose early work embarasses them.
Advancing proficiency should breed confidence and pride, and as I said, your
early work provides the context for comparison that makes your present work
stand out.
Your early work is what got you where you are today. Celebrate it, and
celebrate the people that still enjoy it. There's no gain or reason in
doing otherwise.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
elca branman on fri 24 oct 03
I've also made plenty of doorstops in my day .
However I once visited a home for the first time, and naturally checked
out the art and pots. There was one pot there that i really liked a lot
and when i turned it over to see who made it, , my name was on the
bottom.
So...sometimes you don't even recognize your own work and simply admire
it , but more often you do recognize it and want to drop through the
floor with embarrassment..
I
Elca Branman
http://www.elcabranman.com
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Lois Ruben Aronow on fri 24 oct 03
This has happened to me too! I was admiring a lovely bowl at a
friend's house - - and there was my signature! She told me she bought
it at a xmas sale a few years before (must have been my first one). =20
Made me feel better, like all the duds I thought I had made previously
might not be so bad.
then again, there's that purple pitcher sitting on the shelf.......
************
Lois Ruben Aronow
www.loisaronow.com
Modern Porcelain and Tableware
The Tattoo is back!
Edouard Bastarache Inc. on fri 24 oct 03
How are you embarassed by your first child?
Later,
"Ils sont fous ces quebecois"
Edouard Bastarache
Irreductible Quebecois
Indomitable Quebeker
Sorel-Tracy
Quebec
edouardb@sorel-tracy.qc.ca
http://sorel-tracy.qc.ca/~edouardb/
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/smart2000/index.htm
Charles Moore on sat 25 oct 03
I appreciate Tom's response (below), but I would note that I am still
embarrassed by some of my recent work. Some of it should be hammered
immediately, not because I do not know better, but because I didn't see it
as it entered the kiln.
Charles Moore
Sacramento
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Sawyer"
To:
Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2003 2:33 PM
Subject: Re: embarrassed by early work
> I doubt whether anyone has made more klunkers than me. If some of you
think
> you've got a lot of early stuff out, pity me I've got 10 children and 19
> grandchildren and they scarf up everything that I'm thinking about
breaking
> up. In addition, I'm still making a lot of klunkers. Hell I've even got
two
> neighbors who come over repeatedly and make sure I'm not going to hammer
> some piece to death and in addition my housekeeper makes regular checks of
> my kiln area. She's learned that if I take something out of my kiln and
> place it in a certain spot, its probably going to die. Alas, I've been
> forced to become philosophical, if they love the buggers, I'm happy
they've
> found a home. I often think of my stock answer when someone asks what a
> piece of art is worth and I say whatever someone will pay for it. When
> klunkers are spirited away without payment that's what their worth. I do
> have one early pot made about 30 years ago that I am very happy I've kept;
> it was one of the very first pots I made on the wheel that didn't explode
in
> firing; I started to cut it off and said to myself, "I think I'll keep
this
> as a chronolgy. I kept it cut off goo and all. God its really
> bad -HORRIBLE- but I love it - kinda like have an ugly child or a good sex
> partner that's ugly as hell --- well you get my point. My kids and others
> love the klunkers because I made them. My wife's tried to make a few pots
> and I treasure them. Isn't that where the worth comes in. I have a large
> bowl that I threw about an hour before Callas and Voulkus arrived at my
home
> 8-9 years ago and that I talked them into decorating and signing their
> names. The bowl is ugly as sin but boy do I value that pot and it is a
real
> klunker. Pete's probably twisting in the grave my even mentioning it. I
> remember he kidded my and said I wanted him to decorate it so I could sell
> it [fat chance] and I told him that was the price of a glass of vodka;
best
> drink I ever bought anyone ---- well except my wife when I bought a bottle
> of Champagne and we stayed up all night BUT guys that's a private
> story.........
>
> Tom Sawyer
> tsawyer@cfl.rr.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On Behalf Of Richard J
> Mahaffey
> Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 1969 8:46 PM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: embarrassed by early work
>
>
> I saw some of my early work and that of fellow grad students in an
> estate sale a couple of weeks ago. It was marked at a price that is
> higher than I had sold it for 25+ years ago.
>
> The early stuff that I want to replace the most is in my parent's
> collection. Can't get it back no matter how hard I try. I thought
> about stealing it figuring that they won't miss it with all of the good
> stuff in the collection, but I figure my mom would know.
>
> Rick Mahaffey
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
> __
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
William Sheppard on sat 25 oct 03
Even though I did not make them, I really love to find pieces made
over the last 50 years by my family's studio (Pat Young Ceramic Arts). I
can tell the approximate age of a piece by the shape of the little gold
stickers we have always put on the back of every piece. Every time these
stickers were ordered the dimentions changed, sometimes square and
sometimes rectangular. Each was printed with the words, "Pat Young Hand
Made Original".
For me, those first pieces are a wonderful treasure to be found,
definatelly nothing to be embarrassed by. I do still have a few pieces that
I did make myself in the 1960's, that don't look too bad.
Do any of you Clay Arters have any of our early work? Along with the
sticker will be a PY glazed into the back of the piece. If so please tell
me about it.
Kathie Wheater on sat 25 oct 03
>From: "Edouard Bastarache Inc."
>How are you embarassed by your first child?
You'ld have to meet Wyatt.
I don't get embarassed anymore, just smile and shrug.
He has an interesting way of looking at things.
KathieW
Chris Schafale on sat 25 oct 03
Somewhere I read (and I don't remember where
anymore) a potter who said that we potters tend to
keep the uglies -- the ones that didn't quite turn out --
hanging around our studios and kitchens, while we sell
all the good stuff. The result of which is that when we
look around us, we see our worst work, rather than our
best. Hardly inspiring. Since reading that, I've been
more thoughtful about which seconds I decide to keep
in my home, and I'm more apt to keep some good
examples in the studio rather than letting them all go.
Last year I did a major studio cleanout and hammered
a whole lot of bungled early work that was staring me in
the face every day. Felt much better afterwards and
since.
Chris
Light One Candle Pottery
Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, USA
(south of Raleigh)
candle@intrex.net
http://www.lightonecandle.com
Lois Ruben Aronow on sat 25 oct 03
On Fri, 24 Oct 2003 21:46:32 -0400, you wrote:
>How are you embarassed by your first child?
>
That depends on which bodily function he is showing off at which
particular moment :-)
Actually, my very very very first pot I still have - and use. I love
it, and think it is one of the more beautiful pots I have made.
I'm not embarrassed by any of my pots, just sort of - - shy.
************
Lois Ruben Aronow
www.loisaronow.com
Modern Porcelain and Tableware
The Tattoo is back!
Alex Solla on sat 25 oct 03
Vince is approaching this from a very different angle than most folks posting so far...
Accomplishment means we have come from one place and developed our work, and moved on to another place. That is a good thing. If we stay in a rut, it shows. Dont believe it. Look at the early work of your favorite potters. Check out the first pots of Shaner's or Voulkos' or Heino's.... everyone's early pots are just that. Sometimes you can even see the thread shining through that makes that potter's signature.
I had the great fortune to once have dinner with some folks who love pots. They nabbed me at my booth in Portland during a craft fair. Seated at their table I realized they had pots of Craig Martell's going back YEARS! They had bought something at least once a year for as long as they had been together. It was amazing. Lots of different glazes and claybodies and forms. All sorts of fun exploration. I doubt Craig would be embarrassed walking into that house. Self-concious perhaps but not ashamed of what he had made.
Thanks for looking at this from the other end Vince. Guess this means you dont make fun of the pot I gave you way back when eh?
cheers,
Alex Solla
Vince Pitelka <vpitelka@DTCCOM.NET> wrote: If you really think about it, the idea of being embarassed by your early
work is very strange, and exactly opposite the way you should feel about it.
The work you have done over your time in clay simply represents your journey
to get to where you are now, and the fact that some of your earlier work
looks awkward or primitive to you now is strong evidence of the distance you
have come, and that is to your credit. Why not celebrate that, instead of
being embarassed. I am really surprised that anyone would respond that way.
Someone, somewhere, liked your work enough to either buy it, or to be very
pleased with it when it was given as a gift. And now you wish it wasn't out
there? What is that all about? I have been following this thread, and
frankly I am startled by all the people whose early work embarasses them.
Advancing proficiency should breed confidence and pride, and as I said, your
early work provides the context for comparison that makes your present work
stand out.
Your early work is what got you where you are today. Celebrate it, and
celebrate the people that still enjoy it. There's no gain or reason in
doing otherwise.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
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Tom Sawyer on sat 25 oct 03
I doubt whether anyone has made more klunkers than me. If some of you think
you've got a lot of early stuff out, pity me I've got 10 children and 19
grandchildren and they scarf up everything that I'm thinking about breaking
up. In addition, I'm still making a lot of klunkers. Hell I've even got two
neighbors who come over repeatedly and make sure I'm not going to hammer
some piece to death and in addition my housekeeper makes regular checks of
my kiln area. She's learned that if I take something out of my kiln and
place it in a certain spot, its probably going to die. Alas, I've been
forced to become philosophical, if they love the buggers, I'm happy they've
found a home. I often think of my stock answer when someone asks what a
piece of art is worth and I say whatever someone will pay for it. When
klunkers are spirited away without payment that's what their worth. I do
have one early pot made about 30 years ago that I am very happy I've kept;
it was one of the very first pots I made on the wheel that didn't explode in
firing; I started to cut it off and said to myself, "I think I'll keep this
as a chronolgy. I kept it cut off goo and all. God its really
bad -HORRIBLE- but I love it - kinda like have an ugly child or a good sex
partner that's ugly as hell --- well you get my point. My kids and others
love the klunkers because I made them. My wife's tried to make a few pots
and I treasure them. Isn't that where the worth comes in. I have a large
bowl that I threw about an hour before Callas and Voulkus arrived at my home
8-9 years ago and that I talked them into decorating and signing their
names. The bowl is ugly as sin but boy do I value that pot and it is a real
klunker. Pete's probably twisting in the grave my even mentioning it. I
remember he kidded my and said I wanted him to decorate it so I could sell
it [fat chance] and I told him that was the price of a glass of vodka; best
drink I ever bought anyone ---- well except my wife when I bought a bottle
of Champagne and we stayed up all night BUT guys that's a private
story.........
Tom Sawyer
tsawyer@cfl.rr.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On Behalf Of Richard J
Mahaffey
Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 1969 8:46 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: embarrassed by early work
I saw some of my early work and that of fellow grad students in an
estate sale a couple of weeks ago. It was marked at a price that is
higher than I had sold it for 25+ years ago.
The early stuff that I want to replace the most is in my parent's
collection. Can't get it back no matter how hard I try. I thought
about stealing it figuring that they won't miss it with all of the good
stuff in the collection, but I figure my mom would know.
Rick Mahaffey
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__
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Vince Pitelka on sun 26 oct 03
Alex Solla wrote:
"Thanks for looking at this from the other end Vince. Guess this means you
dont make fun of the pot I gave you way back when eh?"
When I was the studio technician at UMass-Amherst, Alex was a student at
Hampshire College. They didn't have a ceramics program, so under the Five
College Consortium, Alex and a bunch of other very bright, talented students
came to study ceramics at UMass. They were some of our very best students.
I had the privelege to work closely with them. When I left to take my first
tenure track job at NDSU-Fargo, Alex gave me a nice buff-glazed stoneware
serving bowl, with a bit of Japanese-influenced iron brushwork in it.
Alex, tonight we had our annual neighborhood picnic down at the boat ramp on
Center Hill Lake. I brought a big cooler of beer, and I brought my guitar
and played and sang for hours. And I brought a big bowl of my extra special
guacamole. Alex, I brought it in your bowl. I love that bowl.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
Richard J Mahaffey on sun 26 oct 03
I saw some of my early work and that of fellow grad students in an
estate sale a couple of weeks ago. It was marked at a price that is
higher than I had sold it for 25+ years ago.
The early stuff that I want to replace the most is in my parent's
collection. Can't get it back no matter how hard I try. I thought
about stealing it figuring that they won't miss it with all of the good
stuff in the collection, but I figure my mom would know.
Rick Mahaffey
Brian Haviland on mon 27 oct 03
At 07:45 PM 10/23/03 -0500, you wrote:
>One should never be embarassed by your early work--keep it, bury it if you
>have to. It is a record, an account of your stages of development. y
>smiles back at
>you--even if its with a purple tongue.
>
>
>
>Hello everyone
I just returned from the Louisville Ky. museum of Art and Design
and
saw A display and bought a piece of the late Byron Temples works. It was a
very well presented show and covered his journey in clay from the very
beginning.
The best pot that i saw there was his very first. Just a plain bowl with
glaze swished
around on the inside and thinly trailed on the outside dark blue ^10 i
believe. The display
of work would not have been the same without it. My first bowl fell off the
shelf about a year ago
and has since then been glued back together. When it broke i felt like i
had lost my best
piece of work. I always look back at it and it tells me how far I have
come. Like a Landmark
of my progress through the years. I was there with Byrons family so i was
able to hold and really
feel the works in my bare hands. Would not have it any other way. If its
got a glass case around it you might as well
have just bought the book and looked at the pictures. Anyway folks, don't
look at your first pieces
with embarrassment ,they are the reason you are where you are at today.YOUR
journey.
Brian Haviland
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>melpots@pclink.com.
Notice: "If you are not the intended recipient of this E-mail, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or use of this e-mail and/or any attachments is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this copy and any attachments hereto from your system. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation."
Hendrix, Taylor J. on mon 27 oct 03
Vince,
You are just saying all this because you still have your
long hair and can pull it back when you work. I HATE my=20
early work because it reminds me that I no longer have my=20
pony tail and instead have to cultivate my wooly sideburns
for my hair fix. (my eyebrows are coming along nicely-- =20
thanks for asking)
Taylor, in Waco
where he is a bit frosted because he heard today that he=20
will not be getting to do any wheel work in his ceramics I
class after all. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
-----Original Message-----
From: Vince Pitelka [mailto:vpitelka@DTCCOM.NET]=20
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 6:56 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: embarrassed by early work
If you really think about it, the idea of being embarassed by your early
work is very strange, and exactly opposite the way you should feel about
it.
...
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