Lili Krakowski on sun 21 nov 04
I have kept my mouth shut. So far. What is going on?
When I rode a bicycle through downtown Charleston where we wintered, I =
would get the most vulgar and crude remarks yelled at me by male =
College idiots in convertibles who thought saying such things to a fat =
woman on a bike enhanced their status in the world. My helmet hid my =
gray hair--and my joy was when they passed me and turned ashen upon =
seeing my face and realizing they might have been insulting a prof.! =
Idiots say idiotic things. It is a fact of nature, and, like so many =
others, best laughed off.
There may be an entrance fee to craft fairs--is there?-- but no one has =
to present proof of a good upbringing. Many people go to a craft fair =
because they are bored, because there is no game on TV, because the TV =
is bust, because they have a hangover and the fresh air should do them =
good. People who participate in craft fairs should become inured to =
the fact that a lot of people are there for entertainment and that the =
wares presented are of no more meaning to the visitors than the animals =
at the zoo are. That is a lot of too bad--but if one exhibits at these =
things one sets oneself up as victim. =20
Idiot remarks are what idiots produce. If you want to quip back, swell. =
Some mumbled blandness is all that is needed if stony silence won't do. =
The pricing remarks, the "could you not do something else with your =
life' remarks are all nervous idiocies by people whose social skills =
are nil.
What worries me here is this desperate need to be patted on the head, to =
be reassured that our life has meaning, that what we are doing is =
worthwhile, that we are appreciated, that even people in wheelchairs =
will rise from their seats when we enter the room! What is all this? =
WHY are we more deserving of special adulation than the plumber? The =
electrician? We have a very nice car mechanic and we pay him for his =
services, and thank him for them, and all that, but surely he does not =
build his ego or self-respect on having replaced the leaking gas line in =
my pickup!
If we ARE potters, then we are POTTERS. Others are bakers, and =
shoemakers, and greengrocers. Around here lumberjacks and farmers. So? =
I expect than when Lee tootles around Japan the local potters do not =
get all shook up if he does not compliment each on each and every =
pot....They know who they are and what they do, whether Lee praises them =
or not.
Vince speaks of dilettantes--well those who are that thin skinned =
proclaim themselves such. As a singer friend says (and I have quoted =
Eileen before) 'If you can't take rejection, you don't belong in the =
arts." Double that for crafts.
Lili Krakowski
Be of good courage
Lois Ruben Aronow on mon 22 nov 04
> What worries me here is this desperate need to be patted on
> the head, to be reassured that our life has meaning, that
> what we are doing is worthwhile, that we are appreciated,
> that even people in wheelchairs will rise from their seats
> when we enter the room!
Thank you, thank you Lili.
> Vince speaks of dilettantes--well those who are that thin
> skinned proclaim themselves such. As a singer friend says
> (and I have quoted Eileen before) 'If you can't take
> rejection, you don't belong in the arts." Double that for crafts.
I have spent the beginning of my adult life in the music/broadcasting biz,
and the second half as a full time potter and mom. In the first, my work
was "reaffirmed" by the cash being thrown my way, but the reality was I
would have - and DID at one time, do it for free. The fact that I
eventually was paid handsomely for it was a bonus. In the second, well, I
make my pots for me. I lose interest once they are out of the kiln. But I
have often said here that I would make my pots using PlayDoh on the kitchen
floor if that was my only option. The fact that people buy my pots are a
bonus. The kids, well, that's another story. No one thanks me for raising
them, and one of these days they'll become teenagers and tell me they hate
me, but hell, I do it anyway. My 3 year old still kisses me on the lips,
and that is a bonus. My 7 year old reads at college level and that is a
bonus. My family is healthy and that is a bonus.
If being patted on the head is what makes you feel worthwhile about your
work, find something else to do. The satisfaction should come from inside
you.
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