JOYCE LEE on mon 13 mar 06
Many of you have left posts which ask if I'm happy that I went to NCECA
2006. Yes, yes and yes!! I'm inspired, excited and pleased enough =
that,
as are many of you, I'm planning now for 2007 in Louisville, the city of =
my
birth. The mayor was right ..... my only regrets would have been if I
hadn't been in Portland.
This was a new experience for me. I spent much more time in the hotel
and the Clayart room. It was especially wonderful to open my door
and see Wayne a few feet across the hall, to run into Nan Kitchens,
to walk to the elevator and bump into David H. and his lovely Karen.... =
and
to meet hitherto unmet friends in the elevators. EVERYBODY was a
clayarter. If I felt up to it (which I did, often) hanging in the lobby =
was
allowed, which always generated opportunities to go for dinner or to
Mel's opening or to accompany some New Best Friend on the FREE train
to other galleries. (What a public transportation system!!) AND to see =
this=20
friendly face and hear the
words, "Joyce, I'm Craig Martell." Incredible. I think I can safely =
say
also that Billie Mitchell and I cemented our developing friendship this
time. Her new work is astounding. Wait until you see it! As was
Brian's new neriage work...... he had small samples..... it's too much
to even talk about knowledgeably........ like so many of you pros.......
Brian just keeps plugging away improving the seemingly Beyond
Improvement work he has been doing for years. I am in awe.
I knew this time around that if I had an opportunity to spend more than
the proverbial two minutes with a bud I'd best grab it, which I did. =
Fifteen
or so minutes with Tom Sawyer was delightful; my longtime bud, Lynn
Antone was maybe 10 minutes and then we had to go in different
directions.... but they were valuable moments to me. I saw more of the
Gang of Usual Suspects and received a blue heart from Tom Buck. Oh,
reminds me...... Pat Colyar and Melinda-Collier- formerly- from- =
Guatemala had
great jewelry available.....Pat's earrings are lovely and distinctive as =
are
Melinda's bracelets ... all were so impressive that I bought three from =
each.
And=20
though my friend Diane Pancioli and I spent our time catching up on our
lives, there was time to view and appreciate her wonderful new Cone Six
glazes...... one on a mug she gave me....... yellow with a woodsy,
woody look....... looks woodfired....... can't wait for the article!
I dislike that our secretaria, Marilou Tejero....... what a doll!....... =
will not
be with us in Louisville but it's time for her to return home to=20
Australia....... maybe later she'll be back so we can enjoy her
effervescent and talented company. Be seeing you on the net, Marilou.
As others have said, I can't begin to mention all the meaningful names
and I don't want to leave any out. Although I am saying a Welcome to
My Friendship Circle, Sally McCloud! You are a regal inspiration.
Thanks for the cane/walking-stick tip. Made an immediate difference, =
too.
I can't thank buds enough for bringing pics of their work to share.
I'm not going to comment on all of them but, believe me, they were
impressive! =20
The Clayart Room (floor six!) presentations seemed to have even more
grit to them this year. Arnold Howard from Paragon seemed to have all
the time we needed in order to grasp what he was offering for free about
operating his kilns, or any other kilns about which we might need =
information.
Often kiln info goes pretty much over my head but Arnold's patience even
elicited questions from me. =20
Chris Campbell absolutely understands her way around marketing pots =
.....
ins and outs and in betweens. She shared with us fully. We had loads
of questions for her and, like Arnold, she stayed until the end of what =
we
could absorb. AND her new work is as stunning in person as it is on her
website.
Bonnie, our CPA, delved into the world of Taxes for Potters in her usual
straight-forward, no shortcuts style...... taxes are her livelihood and =
pottery
is her other love. It was apparent that we were getting the Straight =
Skinny
and that Bonnie knows whereof she speaks. Again, her time right then
for us seemed to be limitless. Bonnie, too, stayed until the questions
were out there and fully answered.
I was proud, too, of the Laguna guys. Their presentation was =
exemplary...
clarity was their overriding concern, thank goodness .. John Pancini
and Chris are pros about every aspect of clay. Still, like the others,
they didn't respond to what must have been tempting..... to just rattle =
off
their oft-repeated information and go way too technical on us. They
seemed to keep paramount the fact that their audience was mostly
composed of Studio Potters who, nevertheless, ran the
gamut from users of a few hundred pounds of clay yearly to several
tons in our basically one-man studios.
The mayor's gallery opening was impressive. The last I heard, =
everything
had sold, including paintings and pots. There were some true Crown =
Jewels
of the pottery world being offered .... all gone! I heard comments =
constantly
concerning claybuds' surprise at the depth of understanding of technique
demonstrated by Mel in his great paintings, as well as the undercurrent
of his grasp of the Human Condition (not being too grand here.... I'm
quoting others; although I do agree indeed). The gallery owner, Landry,
was obviously a tremendous fan of Our Mayor..... as were all in
attendance.
Joyce
In the Mojave happy to be home with my westie who was pretty upset
with me but is beginning to come out of it now. I was transferred to
first class to L.A. on United which made a nice ride, although was not
one I requested, of course...... I'd never spend that kind of money for
a few hours comfort when I could spend it on pots. Still, first class =
or
not, I landed at our local airport finally where the Baggage Claim is
an old flat-bed wagon sitting by the fence.... and my Remote Parking
Area was just across the blacktop out in the sand... free, of course,
as it well should be. Ran into Shula again on the fllight. Delightful =
to
finally meet this long-time internet friend.
Jocelyn McAuley on mon 13 mar 06
JOYCE LEE wrote:
> The Clayart Room (floor six!) presentations seemed to have even more
> grit to them this year. Arnold Howard from Paragon seemed to have all
> the time we needed in order to grasp what he was offering for free about
> operating his kilns, or any other kilns about which we might need information.
> Often kiln info goes pretty much over my head but Arnold's patience even
> elicited questions from me.
Wow- these presentations sound stellar!
I sense a Clayart fundraising possibility in the release of a
post-conference Clayart journal of Clayart room workshop transcripts.
Or maybe they could be recorded to a dvd in the future?
That would be a wonderful resource to provide as well as a wonderful way
to further archive the wealth of knowledge this group has to offer.
Jocelyn
--
culinary notebook http://www.BrowniePointsBlog.com
art gallery http://www.LucentArts.com
John Baymore on mon 13 mar 06
I sense a Clayart fundraising possibility in the release of a
post-conference Clayart journal of Clayart room workshop transcripts.
Or maybe they could be recorded to a dvd in the future?
That would be a wonderful resource to provide as well as a wonderful way
to further archive the wealth of knowledge this group has to offer.
Jocelyn,
Interesting idea. On the times I have presented at NCECA, I've been
required to provide a transcript of my presentation for archival / journal
purposes. This would be a nice tradition to parallel for CLAYART.
Maybe the funds could go to the "clay it forward" program.
I attended Bonnie's session on taxes and found it to be very well done.
Good info, and well delivered. Bonnie.... with your professional backgrond
in both media..... you should propose something to NCECA for Louisville.
Maybe one of the one hour lectures. Go for it girl!
best,
..........john
John Baymore
River Bend Pottery
Wilton, NH 03086 USA
JBaymore@compuserve.com
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