Steve Slatin on tue 14 mar 06
The following will be of interest to those who
haven't gone to an NCECA yet rathen than those
who have ...
I only went this year because it was convenient
(and inexpensive). Last year I skipped it
because it would have involved expensive travel.
This was a poor judgment on my part; I suspect I
learned as much about pottery as a business and
(separately) as a craft at NCECA as I learned on
my own in a year. There are lots of first or
second year BA/BFA students there; you won't be
out of place if you don't know a lot.
I hesitated to participate in the mug exchange
because my work is simple and unsophisticated
compared to the ClayArt 'average.' When I walked
in, there were a few dozen mugs on the table, and
a (stunning) Ricki Gill was among them. My heart
sank; I'm not just not in her league, I'm not
playing at the same game. I looked some more and
saw a really fine mug by Charan from Federal Way,
(one of the few ClayArters I knew before NCECA)
-- a knockout.
At the last minute I put a mug in, and it was a
good thing for three reasons; first, the woman
who got my mug was positive about it, second,
other people who saw it focused on the good
things about it and told me what was right about
my work, and third, in the exchange I got a Craig
Martell teabowl. (A Craig Martell! I had my
coffee from it this morning; it's really more for
whisked powdered tea than for coffee, but the
aesthetic experience was miraculous nonetheless.)
The simultaneous demos sounded confusing to me,
but in fact they were excellent. I went to two
of the Josh DeW demos and while I learned rather
less than I hoped from him, I found the
simultaneous demo of sculpting heads was pretty
near riveting. (This is not to knock Josh. He's
great, and I saw him do some neat stuff -- but I
just happened to click more with the sculptor and
the less-well known third potter, who was doing
some very nice stuff at the same time.)
The demos in the exhibitor hall are also
excellent. I got a hands-on throwing demo
from one of the guys at the Shimpo booth, and
also got the lowdown on how to put together a
simple frog from 'teardrops' of clay. I saw
two Steven Hill (he's a favorite of mine)
demos of throwing and decorating a pot that
really gave me quite a bit of material to
work with, and the integration of technical
and aesthetic considerations was really neat.
And I met Robin Hopper, whose work I've admired
for many years.
When I was tired I'd take in a lecture or a film
of a demo from a previous year. When I was
curious I'd check one of the 'at the margins'
events -- the K-12 exhibit was far better than
I'd expected, and the cup show was excellent and
so on.
All this takes place at the convention site, and
if you need convincing that an NCECA is worth the
time and expense, this should be sufficient.
If not, bear in mind that there are lots of
gallery shows going on, and buses to take you
there (though it may take a half a day to get
through a single bus route). And the downtown
galleries, off the bus routes, also participated
and had some very good stuff.
Finally, the ClayArt room was excellent. I met
lots of people I'd wanted to meet; had dinner
with too few of them and learned lots from the
informal presentations there. Some of the
ClayArters (Stephanie S., both as herself and as
Natasha; Figgly Gail; David H.;Ron R.; Liz
W.; Joyce Lee {who looks and sounds EXACTLY like
she should}; John H.; I could go on and on) are
so full of ideas and insight and willingness to
help that I can only say I was privileged to meet
them.
And I have an in-box half full of private
messages that I need to reply to, from people who
want to help me or who want me to help them;
ClayArters and others (it seems most clay folk
are good people).
If Louisville is possible for you and you're
undecided about it, I'd recommend trying it. At
worst, it'll be less than the best vacation
you've ever had. At best it may be one of the
best times you ever have.
-- Steve Slatin
Steve Slatin --
In the mornin’ cry of the rooster
The baby lay alone
And the old cow in the green grass
Shed white tears in the red hot sun
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
lee love on wed 15 mar 06
What is the average bill when someone flies to NCECA? I've only
attended the one that came to Minneapolis. What is hotel cost a night?
--
Lee In Mashiko, Japan
http://mashiko.org
http://seisokuro.blogspot.com/
"Common Sense is that which judges the things given to it by other
senses."
--Leonardo Da Vinci
Fonda Hancock on wed 15 mar 06
Thanks, Steve, for the informative and encouraging post. I really want to
go next year to Louisville and feel very much like I am not on the same
plane as so many other Clayarters. But, I do want to see the demos and see
the work and maybe, if courage wins out meet some people. Your generous
post is printed out and on my bulletin board near my wheel. I sure hope
you will be able to incorporate what you saw and heard into your work.
Fonda in Tennessee, where the redbuds and blooming and the bluebirds are
nesting.
Rikki Gill on wed 15 mar 06
Hi Lee,
My shared bill was about $50 a night each. Just a small room, no in room
hot tub. Great roommate though. [Jennifer Boyer]
Best, Rikki Gill
----- Original Message -----
From: "lee love"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 6:12 AM
Subject: Re: Beginner's Notes
What is the average bill when someone flies to NCECA? I've only
attended the one that came to Minneapolis. What is hotel cost a night?
--
Lee In Mashiko, Japan
http://mashiko.org
http://seisokuro.blogspot.com/
"Common Sense is that which judges the things given to it by other
senses."
--Leonardo Da Vinci
______________________________________________________________________________
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Liz Willoughby on wed 15 mar 06
Hello Steve,
So nice to meet you and chat with you over oysters at "Jakes". What
you have said below is so true, and I am glad that your NCECA was a
positive experience, even though it can be over whelming.
I have some thoughts on the mug exchange. (And Lori, I honestly
forgot about the no picking up rule! Sorry, you see claybuds, I
picked up the first two bags, and took the third! Oh drat, !)
I think that it is important that those who make a good mug, or those
of us that have been making mugs for a long time, keep donating. I
also think that it is best that the new potters get the best mugs,
simply because they can learn from it. All kinds of things, weight,
handle, lip, and glaze.
Glad that you donated a mug, and wish that I had seen it.
My regrets were that I didn't visit or talk to enough clayarters.
Ones that I knew, and ones that are new! to clayart. Those that I
did spend time with, enriched my stay in Portland, and you know who
you are. It is always a blast, and I always come away with some
wonderful memories. The clayart room was the best yet, and if I
remember correctly it was Barbara Brown who found the hotel for us.
(Another clayarter that I didn't get to visit with!)
Liz from Grafton, Ontario, Canada
P.S.
Would have posted earlier, however been in bed for two days with a
raging fever. Starting to come out of the haze now, but boy am I
having some funny dreams. Marilu, you don't have 14 children do you??
>The following will be of interest to those who
>haven't gone to an NCECA yet rathen than those
>who have ...
>
>I only went this year because it was convenient
>(and inexpensive). Last year I skipped it
>because it would have involved expensive travel.
>This was a poor judgment on my part; I suspect I
>learned as much about pottery as a business and
>(separately) as a craft at NCECA as I learned on
>my own in a year. There are lots of first or
>second year BA/BFA students there; you won't be
>out of place if you don't know a lot.
>
>I hesitated to participate in the mug exchange
>because my work is simple and unsophisticated
>compared to the ClayArt 'average.' When I walked
>in, there were a few dozen mugs on the table, and
>a (stunning) Ricki Gill was among them. My heart
>sank; I'm not just not in her league, I'm not
>playing at the same game. I looked some more and
>saw a really fine mug by Charan from Federal Way,
>(one of the few ClayArters I knew before NCECA)
>-- a knockout.
>
>At the last minute I put a mug in, and it was a
>good thing for three reasons; first, the woman
>who got my mug was positive about it, second,
>other people who saw it focused on the good
>things about it and told me what was right about
>my work, and third, in the exchange I got a Craig
>Martell teabowl. (A Craig Martell! I had my
>coffee from it this morning; it's really more for
>whisked powdered tea than for coffee, but the
>aesthetic experience was miraculous nonetheless.)
>
>The simultaneous demos sounded confusing to me,
>but in fact they were excellent. I went to two
>of the Josh DeW demos and while I learned rather
>less than I hoped from him, I found the
>simultaneous demo of sculpting heads was pretty
>near riveting. (This is not to knock Josh. He's
>great, and I saw him do some neat stuff -- but I
>just happened to click more with the sculptor and
>the less-well known third potter, who was doing
>some very nice stuff at the same time.)
>
>The demos in the exhibitor hall are also
>excellent. I got a hands-on throwing demo
>from one of the guys at the Shimpo booth, and
>also got the lowdown on how to put together a
>simple frog from 'teardrops' of clay. I saw
>two Steven Hill (he's a favorite of mine)
>demos of throwing and decorating a pot that
>really gave me quite a bit of material to
>work with, and the integration of technical
>and aesthetic considerations was really neat.
>
>And I met Robin Hopper, whose work I've admired
>for many years.
>
>When I was tired I'd take in a lecture or a film
>of a demo from a previous year. When I was
>curious I'd check one of the 'at the margins'
>events -- the K-12 exhibit was far better than
>I'd expected, and the cup show was excellent and
>so on.
>
>All this takes place at the convention site, and
>if you need convincing that an NCECA is worth the
>time and expense, this should be sufficient.
>If not, bear in mind that there are lots of
>gallery shows going on, and buses to take you
>there (though it may take a half a day to get
>through a single bus route). And the downtown
>galleries, off the bus routes, also participated
>and had some very good stuff.
>
>Finally, the ClayArt room was excellent. I met
>lots of people I'd wanted to meet; had dinner
>with too few of them and learned lots from the
>informal presentations there. Some of the
>ClayArters (Stephanie S., both as herself and as
>Natasha; Figgly Gail; David H.;Ron R.; Liz
>W.; Joyce Lee {who looks and sounds EXACTLY like
>she should}; John H.; I could go on and on) are
>so full of ideas and insight and willingness to
>help that I can only say I was privileged to meet
>them.
>
>If Louisville is possible for you and you're
>undecided about it, I'd recommend trying it. At
>worst, it'll be less than the best vacation
>you've ever had. At best it may be one of the
>best times you ever have.
>
>Steve Slatin --
>
>In the mornin=92 cry of the rooster
>The baby lay alone
>And the old cow in the green grass
>Shed white tears in the red hot sun
--
Liz from Grafton, Ontario, Canada
"Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are . . . something
to do, something to love, and something to hope for."
Joseph Addison
Chris Leake on wed 15 mar 06
......A Craig Martell! I had my
>coffee from it this morning.....
That is where you hit the point of the exchange! Not who's mug you got or how experienced the maker, or how big a name they have, but a work of clay (or a Bison tool, sigh) that you can look at or use every day and remember the people and the experience. I did happen to be the recipient of that "stunning" Rikki Gill mug, but my collection after 20 years of pottery includes work that ranges from Rikki Gill work to some "never will be" potters. I love each and every one because they are my rememberalls.
Chris Leake
http://www.leakeart.com
| |
|
