mel jacobson on wed 17 aug 05
this is timely.
we had a group of friends over the other night...three
of them were national/sort of/historic calligraphers.
we got into a `where are they now` discussion.
we listed 10 very famous calligraphers of the 80's.
all of them are doing other things.
about 6 more from the 90's. same thing.
they have moved on. graphic art, selling houses, one works in a
factory. (benefits, insurance, retirement potential.) frame shop..etc.
i asked the question...`why did they quit?`
hmmm, hmmm, who knows?.
my answer is:
there was no money to be made. they taught their
six workshops, sold 10 pieces of work...and that was the end.
sat alone in their studios wondering what to do next.
so then they turn to abstract design...scratch all over the
canvas/paper...use color fields...and call it calligraphy.
use a pen...but never letters. no one wants it...so they
get mad at the society.
art, craft that is useless...that no one wants...leads the
artist, crafts person to think.
`what the hell is going on here?`
unless you have an outside source of making a living...you had
better have a plan...have your skills in order....or move on.
or as an artist....if you think you can sit on the street with
your penis hanging out...talking about censorship...you had
better be working at mcdonald's...making a buck or two.
no one will pay you a cent to `hang out`. and, very few
give a damn. (or, mom and dad pay the college where the
kid is learning this `form` of art...)
one wonders why folks are not going to movies very much...constant
decline. well, easy...go look at the movies. junk. written by 25 year
olds. no experience. no craftsmanship. when in doubt say F@^K.
craft is a tool, it takes years to develop the use of a tool.
i never mean that kids/young people are not smart...my grandson
got his drivers license today...he is a damn smart kid.
no experience. not a tad. he can build his tools in time..and i hope
he will. but, it cannot be done in two weeks.
we love potential energy...but potential is not skill...it is still just
potential.
those that stay for the long run, love the work, attach some form
of commerce to their work. it does not have to be much...but
recognition of a job well done goes a long way...and then when you
get paid for that...nice. `hmm, think i will do some more pots next week
too.`
let's see, what will the date be for the backyard/fall sale.
????get moving.
mel
from mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
http://home.comcast.net/~figglywig/clayart.htm
for gail's year book.
claybair on wed 17 aug 05
Mel,
I agree that to become good at anything takes time.
I've been pondering durations of time lately.
It's no wonder to me why many in younger generations can't handle long
durations of time.
Look at commercials, Sesame Street, movies and sadly most recently the news.
Sound bites don't seem to last more than 30 seconds. Movies are short clips,
with little
continuity and jagged filming e.g. The Bourne Supremacy my eyes felt like
they were watching a
blender.... acckkk...... ruined the movie for me.
I recall when the news was a comprehensive gathering of information
presented in depth and taking the time to do so. Now you have %$#*(*^$#
chit chat between mindless mannequins with pasted on smiles who tell you
what
is coming up instead of telling you what is happening.
Can you tell I have a hard time watching/listening to any news. Geeze...
and here I thought I had a short attention span....OMG
I may have to resort to reading the NY Times...... between that and Clayart
I'll have 10 minutes a day at the wheel!
Ok rant over..........kudos to the younger generations who can
surmount the short attention span education system and are able to
take the time to become an artists, artisans & craftspersons.
Gayle Bair
Bainbridge Island, WA
Tucson, AZ
http://claybair.com
-----Original Message-----
From:mel jacobson
this is timely.
snip>
craft is a tool, it takes years to develop the use of a tool.
i never mean that kids/young people are not smart...my grandson
got his drivers license today...he is a damn smart kid.
no experience. not a tad. he can build his tools in time..and i hope
he will. but, it cannot be done in two weeks.
we love potential energy...but potential is not skill...it is still just
potential.
those that stay for the long run, love the work, attach some form
of commerce to their work. it does not have to be much...but
recognition of a job well done goes a long way...and then when you
get paid for that...nice. `hmm, think i will do some more pots next week
too.`
let's see, what will the date be for the backyard/fall sale.
????get moving.
mel
from mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
http://home.comcast.net/~figglywig/clayart.htm
for gail's year book.
--
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Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
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Malcolm Schosha on wed 17 aug 05
Mel,
Income for calligraphers has gone down the tubes, largly because of
computers. Graphic design was hit with the same changes, so that
offers no alternative unless you want to do design on the computer.
Likewise hand sign painting has been replaced by computer cut vinyl.
After I injured my back, these three are what I turned to for work. I
still do calligraphy, but the amount of work, and the price for the
work is down. In New York City, there were previously many
professional calligraphers, but now only a few. I know some great
sign painters too, but the ones still in business made the change to
computers; and, although they would love to do some hand lettering,
their paints have dried up in the cans while they spend their days in
front of a computer screen.
Malcolm Schosha
..................
--- In clayart@yahoogroups.com, mel jacobson wrote:
> this is timely.
>
> we had a group of friends over the other night...three
> of them were national/sort of/historic calligraphers.
>
> we got into a `where are they now` discussion.
>
> we listed 10 very famous calligraphers of the 80's.
> all of them are doing other things.
> about 6 more from the 90's. same thing.
> they have moved on. graphic art, selling houses, one works in a
> factory. (benefits, insurance, retirement potential.) frame
shop..etc.
>
> i asked the question...`why did they quit?`
> hmmm, hmmm, who knows?.
>
> my answer is:
>
> there was no money to be made. they taught their
> six workshops, sold 10 pieces of work...and that was the end.
> sat alone in their studios wondering what to do next.
> so then they turn to abstract design...scratch all over the
> canvas/paper...use color fields...and call it calligraphy.
> use a pen...but never letters. no one wants it...so they
> get mad at the society.
>
> art, craft that is useless...that no one wants...leads the
> artist, crafts person to think.
> `what the hell is going on here?`
> unless you have an outside source of making a living...you had
> better have a plan...have your skills in order....or move on.
>
> or as an artist....if you think you can sit on the street with
> your penis hanging out...talking about censorship...you had
> better be working at mcdonald's...making a buck or two.
> no one will pay you a cent to `hang out`. and, very few
> give a damn. (or, mom and dad pay the college where the
> kid is learning this `form` of art...)
>
> one wonders why folks are not going to movies very much...constant
> decline. well, easy...go look at the movies. junk. written by 25
year
> olds. no experience. no craftsmanship. when in doubt say F@^K.
>
> craft is a tool, it takes years to develop the use of a tool.
> i never mean that kids/young people are not smart...my grandson
> got his drivers license today...he is a damn smart kid.
> no experience. not a tad. he can build his tools in time..and i
hope
> he will. but, it cannot be done in two weeks.
> we love potential energy...but potential is not skill...it is still
just
> potential.
>
> those that stay for the long run, love the work, attach some form
> of commerce to their work. it does not have to be much...but
> recognition of a job well done goes a long way...and then when you
> get paid for that...nice. `hmm, think i will do some more pots
next week
> too.`
> let's see, what will the date be for the backyard/fall sale.
> ????get moving.
> mel
>
>
>
> from mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
> website: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
> http://home.comcast.net/~figglywig/clayart.htm
> for gail's year book.
>
>
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