Kathy Forer on wed 23 nov 05
On Nov 23, 2005, at 12:30 PM, denny means wrote:
> An idea for the season - or longer:
> =93The gift is to the giver, and comes back most to him =96 it cannot =
fail
> =94 _
> Walt Whitman.
> I give away a mug. The mug comes with one condition: use it for a =20
> while,
> then give it away. Each recipient can use the mug for a while, then =20=
> pass it
> along. Each time the mug is given it should be given with the =20
> requirement:
> use it, then give it away.
> I enclose a card that explains the purpose of the gift is to =20
> reconnect us
> with an ancient tradition of many aboriginal cultures =96 to possess =20=
> is to
> give. Our objects are many, and we give them away. By doing so we
> encourage a circle of good will and community ties.
> The people in our group of the traveling mug can consider for a =20
> moment, the
> nature of transactions. =96 Once there was a time when all property =20=
> was not
> bought and sold. The culture shared abundance freely. ( Somewhat =20
> like the
> sharing that is done on Clayart.)
> The idea of a traveling gift mug comes from the Lewis Hyde book, =20=
> =93The
> Gift.=94 Where Hyde explores the nature of transactions and how art =20=
> often
> occupies the space of gifts rather than simple property.
> A traveling gift mug may have no more effect than a small pebble in =20=
> a big
> pond. Yet, it seems like a worthwhile experiment. Plus, it feels =20
> good, and
> is somehow anti-establishment. People get a kick out of this aspect =20=
> of the
> gift mug.
Reads like a textual explanation for a multimedia craft degree.
Nonetheless, nice idea :-)
Will the cups somehow look on any level like your description or is =20
the ancient mythological tradition dependent not on the object but on =20=
transformative sharing energy to activate design manifest in the mug? =20=
How do the concept and object reveal each other?
Or perhaps it's a film analysis? "self-knowledge dependent on action =20
involving one's friends" "involve archetypal journeys heading through =20=
conflict to spiritual unity."
http://www.siu.edu/~siupress/titles/f99_titles/bliss_dreams.htm
How are you going to charge for or give them away?
As a reviewer wrote of your Lewis Hyde's book The Gift, "In contrast, =20=
in a gift economy, wealth is decreased by hoarding, for it is the =20
circulation of the gift(s) within the community that leads to =20
increase--- increase in connections, increase in relationship strength."
> Now, back to another point made by Walt Whitman, the sign he kept =20
> on his
> desk read: =93Make the Work.=94
"How beggarly appear arguments before a defiant deed!" -- Walt Whitman
....
Kathy Forer
www.kforer.com
Kathy Forer on wed 23 nov 05
On Nov 23, 2005, at 12:30 PM, denny means wrote:
> At the last few shows, I have been doing something that is interesting
> experiment, and may cast ripples in unknown directions.
> I give away a mug.
Okey, I missed that part of the explanation. It ties it all together,
though it still would be nice to do as a conceptual object. One from
which you can drink.
> The mug comes with one condition: use it for a while,
> then give it away. Each recipient can use the mug for a while, then
> pass it
> along. Each time the mug is given it should be given with the
> requirement:
> use it, then give it away.
How could that be reflected in the design of the mug?
Punch or break off here, then pass along. Add notch or mark. After x
washings, part of surface will wear off perhaps revealing
undersurface, more worn/revealed after 2x, still more after 3x, etc.
Kathy
denny means on wed 23 nov 05
An idea for the season - or longer:
“The gift is to the giver, and comes back most to him – it cannot fail…” _
Walt Whitman.
At the last few shows, I have been doing something that is interesting
experiment, and may cast ripples in unknown directions.
I give away a mug. The mug comes with one condition: use it for a while,
then give it away. Each recipient can use the mug for a while, then pass it
along. Each time the mug is given it should be given with the requirement:
use it, then give it away.
I enclose a card that explains the purpose of the gift is to reconnect us
with an ancient tradition of many aboriginal cultures – to possess is to
give. Our objects are many, and we give them away. By doing so we
encourage a circle of good will and community ties.
The people in our group of the traveling mug can consider for a moment, the
nature of transactions. – Once there was a time when all property was not
bought and sold. The culture shared abundance freely. ( Somewhat like the
sharing that is done on Clayart.)
The idea of a traveling gift mug comes from the Lewis Hyde book, “The
Gift.” Where Hyde explores the nature of transactions and how art often
occupies the space of gifts rather than simple property.
A traveling gift mug may have no more effect than a small pebble in a big
pond. Yet, it seems like a worthwhile experiment. Plus, it feels good, and
is somehow anti-establishment. People get a kick out of this aspect of the
gift mug.
Now, back to another point made by Walt Whitman, the sign he kept on his
desk read: “Make the Work.”
Regards,
Denny Means
http://home.earthlink.net/~crookedtreepots/
Fredrick Paget on thu 24 nov 05
This is a cool idea.
Lets all think up a neat 4 line poem that expresses this idea and I
will run of a couple of hundred ceramic decal copies of the winner
and bring them to the Clayart room at NCECA to give away.
--
From Fred Paget,
Marin County, CA, USA
fredrick@well.com
Charter Member Potters Council
Ann Brink on thu 24 nov 05
Hi Fred,
Here's one for starters:
Here's a mug for you for now
Enjoy it for a while
Then pass it on and keep the vow
To give someone a smile.
Ann Brink in Lompoc CA
> This is a cool idea.
>
> Lets all think up a neat 4 line poem that expresses this idea and I
> will run of a couple of hundred ceramic decal copies of the winner
> and bring them to the Clayart room at NCECA to give away.
> --
> From Fred Paget,
> Marin County, CA, USA
> fredrick@well.com
> Charter Member Potters Council
>
claybair on thu 24 nov 05
This mug given brings a smile
to be passed to another in a while.
Receiver becomes giver with this token
and the chain of smiles remain unbroken.
Gayle Bair - turkey in the oven, all components
for the meal made and waiting on the oven runway.......
but for now I'm sneaking into the studio to finish some pots.
Bainbridge Island, WA
Tucson, AZ
http://claybair.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Fredrick Paget
This is a cool idea.
Lets all think up a neat 4 line poem that expresses this idea and I
will run of a couple of hundred ceramic decal copies of the winner
and bring them to the Clayart room at NCECA to give away.
--
From Fred Paget,
Marin County, CA, USA
fredrick@well.com
Charter Member Potters Council
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.13.7/182 - Release Date: 11/24/2005
Fredrick Paget on tue 29 nov 05
Besides the two poems that appeared on line I got a couple more
good ones off list. Total of four.
And I could fit in 2 more lines if the type is smaller.
Come on ! There are around 2000 readers on this list so there must
be a few more poets.
Send in your efforts.
--
From Fred Paget,
Marin County, CA, USA
fredrick@well.com
Charter Member Potters Council
denny means on tue 29 nov 05
Thanks to all who have written on this topic, and support the idea.
…ripples in unexpected directions.
My idea is that the traveling gift mug is a simple utilitarian object,
suitable for daily use. As Kathy wrote, the energy comes from the sharing,
the passing along of a simple object. Part of passing along the mug is
sacrificing one’s desire to affect the future outcome for the mug. Some
will go on; others will stop. That is not optimum, but it is OK.
My way is to give the mug to a stranger, but that person is someone who
expressed interest in my work, or in the mugs. At a studio sale, one woman
was admiring a smaller raku bowl, indicating she would love to have it. I
said, “Well, today is the day to take it home.” She could not, indicating
she had a very tight budget at the time. She said, “If I’m meant to have
it, then it will be here next month.” This exchange, her difficulties, and
her acceptance of what may come affected me.
I gave her a mug, with a little card and the Whitman quote on it. We
discussed the condition that went with the mug: use it for a while; then
give it away, in no more than one year. Each person receiving the mug is to
be told the requirement: use it, then give it away. She happily agreed. We
were both happy with the experience.
Again, as Kathy pointed out from the Lewis Hyde book, “the circulation of
the gift(s)
within the community that leads to increase--- increase in connections,
increase in relationship strength." An experiment in sharing abundance.
Made to conflict with the norms of buying and selling, hoarding and
scarcity.
The experiment in sharing abundance has led to unexpected changes. For a
good while, I disliked making mugs – they are so labor intensive, and I’m
not the fastest at making them. I thought; “Poor me, I cannot sell a mug at
a high enough price to justify the labor. So much work to sell for so
little.” I have gotten faster at making mugs; but that is not the biggest
change.
The change is within. Now, I look forward to making mugs. I love to make
mugs, to get in the groove. To throw the shapes, pull the handles, informed
mainly by muscle memory.
My brain and body caught up in the music, the tasks of making, the idea of
folks using the mug and savoring the handmade object.
Making the mugs, creating enough to share abundance is now the important
thing. Not the sales price. Surprise – my mugs got to be better work. …”The
gift is to the giver…”
If you adopt the idea, you get to decide the way you will give the
traveling gift mug. I typically give only one mug away per show.
Occasionally, a second mug begins its journey.
I do not want to poison the market for mug sales, and I don’t want to be
known as the sucker with free mugs.
I make the gift discreetly, and sometimes ask the recipient to keep it
confidential while at the show. A maximum of, say 12 – 15 gift mugs per
year.
I can’t think of a way to make the mug design show evidence of its
travels without undermining the function of the mug. First of all, it has
to be a good mug. Not a “second.” Part of the gift is the foregone income
from a first-line mug.
Fred, Ann, and Gayle – a cool idea for the poem decal. I really like both
poems. I put the idea out there and you all have improved on it already.
Gayle Bair’s poem: This mug given brings a smile
to be passed to another in a while.
Receiver becomes giver with this token
and the chain of smiles remain unbroken.
I am no poet, but the last line may be improved somewhat by revising to
the following?? make chains of smiles unbroken.
(Note that is a question, not a statement.)
Ann Brink’s poem is also a good one:
Here's a mug for you for now
Enjoy it for a while
Then pass it on and keep the vow
To give someone a smile.
My hope would be that the poem author’s name be included on the decal.
Following is the text I print on a small card I give with the mug:
A Gift - A Mug ...that travels
At each show, I give away one mug. The mug comes with one condition: use it
for a while; then give it away. Pass it on in no more than a year, always
with the condition that the recipient use it, then give it away. This gift
is to reconnect us with an ancient tradition of many aboriginal cultures -
to possess is to give. “When we are in the spirit of the gift we love to
feel the body open outward.” _Lewis Hyde. In this way we enjoy the mug on
many levels. Perhaps this gift will become a circle, perhaps a benevolent
chain. Enjoy, then pass it on.
Denny Means - exploring a different way, one mug at a time.
http://home.earthlink.net/~crookedtreepots/
The reverse side of the card has the quote from Walt Whitman:
The gift is to the giver, and comes back most to him—it cannot fail…
_ Walt Whitman
I have considered putting an email address on the card and suggesting that
mug recipients send a note with their reactions to the gift mug. Who they
gave it to, what the recipient said, etc. I remain undecided. That may be
attempting to exercise control over a gift that is best just sent on its
way, and left to the winds of chance and human faithfulness – or not.
Now, back to work,
Regards,
Denny Means
Mason, Ohio
“Make the Work.” _From the sign on Walt Whitman’s desk.
http://home.earthlink.net/~crookedtreepots/
Ann Brink on tue 29 nov 05
Denny, and Fred, if you make the decals...Gail's poem trumps my quickie
rhyme, in my opinion, and others may still send their entries, but if mine
should be chosen, don't use my name- just say "-a potter"
Ann Brink in Lompoc
----- Original Message -----
Subject: Traveling Gift Mug
>
> My hope would be that the poem author's name be included on the decal.
>
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