mel jacobson on sat 25 oct 03
one of the joys of being an older potter
is that you get to visit many of your old
pots. they are like children, and you can
spot them from a mile away.
i go to friends homes for dinner and eat
off off them, get served peanuts in them,
or see them on shelves.
it is a pleasure. they are not all racers, in
fact most are just pots. but, they are
things that trace my roots.
saw two large bowls, maybe 18 inches across.
dark blue with rutile marks. totally blew me away.
they were gorgeous, and i have no idea how i made
them. about 1970, pre japan. i want them back, but
she won't give them to me. it represents
some undocumented glaze or work. and, we all have
done that. at the time we thought...`whoa, that is ugly`.
on second look, thirty years later...`whoa, that is nice`.
saw two of my pieces in an estate sale in our
area. they wanted 100 bucks a piece. i left them.
they were nice ones however.
a man that collects me, warren mac and some others had
me over for brunch on a sunday last year. he had put out
about 200 pieces. they were alternated, my pot, warren's pot
and another potter. he said...`compare, look, and let me
know what you think...are you any good?` he had some of
the best pots i had ever made. 88 of them. they did
look rather fine. i had to smile. it was a rare time, one
usually does not get to see the better work, all in one place,
at one time, and sitting next to mackenzie's work. (remember,
he did not have the same level of mac's work..that is really
hard to get, and he admitted that.) this fellow is a neighbor/
ex student, and gets to all of my shows early. it was a nice
event.
there are some paintings out there that i would love
to burn, but those that have them still like them, and
feel they are just fine. so, who am i to tell them what
they want or like.
over the years i have changed stamps on the bottom of
pots to represent each major change of glaze or style.
i can easily trace when and how most of them were made
by checking my glaze book. all the pots made at the high
school, pigeon lake, or at hay creek have their own unique
stamp.
i totally agree with vince, your work is your work....some
of it was done during down times, some up times. it is all
a string, and it is you.
if you make a great deal of work and sell it, it is going to
be out there for good. it is one reason potters will always
have historic places on earth. paintings die, pots do not.
everything i have ever made is someplace. perhaps in shards
in a dump, but all the pieces are there. thousands of pieces are
passing through families. i like that.
long after i am dead, the pieces will still get used.
i have one pot that is almost two thousand years old.
we still serve nuts in it on occasion. i like to think about
the potter that made that bowl. he/she is a part of my life.
simple, direct japanese rice bowl. it passes through me,
to my daughter, to my grandchildren, and perhaps through
theirs. on and on, a lucky bowl.
it is why we make stuff. clay, fire, water, earth. permanent.
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
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