clennell on wed 14 jun 06
Dear Dick: I am not surprised with Julia Galloways "there are only 2% of
graduates in clay after 10 years". There are probably less than 2% of all
people making pots that can make a living as you have, another 2% that find
themselves in museums and collections (other than their mothers) as you have
done. I prefer 16% cream in my coffee but 2% is probably a healthier
percentage.
I think the difference is those that want to make pots and those that need
to make pots.
I am one of those that "need to" on many different levels. Firstly to eat
and secondly because it is what defines my life and I am down right bitchy
after 4 or 5 days of not working at some aspect of clay.
We fired our woodkiln yesterday. It was off at 10:30am so since I do the
night shift from 12-7 I went to bed right after and went into a coma for an
hour, got up and Sheila went into a coma for an hour, I trimmed some pots
till 3 then fell into a coma again for 2 hours as did Sheila. After supper
she said I don't want to be doing this in another 4 years. We are not 27
anymore and we ache in places were we used to play.
I thought we'd be doing this forever! Maybe if there really is a God she
will deliver a few nice pots for us from this firing and we will mend and
forget the pain. If I had experienced child birth I could draw a paralell. 4
years will become another 4 years and then another 4.
One Feb when money was low and I was depressed I e-mailed Ron Meyers about
my going to U of Georgia to take my MFA.
He emailed back-
Dear Tony:
Drink two bourbons and go to bed. You have the flu.
Love,
Ron
P.S Who the hell would hire you anyway?
Ya gotta love those friends. Kelly e-mails to tell us she took a woman's cup
to the kiln building but she switched genders and danced with my cup.
The clay community on whatever level you hang is a darn nice bunch of folks.
I still say I've been a priviledged man to have spent my entire life in the
company of dirt balls.
It's a rest day we get to work on our deck.
Cheers,
Tony
Tony and Sheila Clennell
Sour Cherry Pottery
4545 King Street
Beamsville, Ontario
CANADA L0R 1B1
http://www.sourcherrypottery.com
Norman Aufrichtig on wed 14 jun 06
dear tony,
i am also one of the 2% who makes his living from pottery and i don't teach,
not that i wouldn't if i could. i think my story is interesting.
went to a very prestigious college for my bfa - cooper union in ny. what is
interesting about this school is that it is totally free. if you're
accepted, you get a full scholarship. every teacher is a master of their
skills. i majored in sculpture. when i graduated i discovered i had no
skills to earn a living, (but i really do understood form and aesthetics in
an internal way). i got a job as an art therapist at the local mental
institution (creedmoor state hospital). then taught art for two years to
seventh graders. didn't like it at all; came home each night with a stomach
ache and head ache. decided to get a mfa - felt that i would rather teach
college. felt this would be more rewarding. at this time we had one child
and no money, so i applied to a few schools hoping to get a scholarship. my
fishing landed two, one at ohio u, and the other at tempe. decided to check
them both out.
when we got to ohio they gave me the elevator key, that sold me. i took the
elevator directly to the basement which turned out to be where the ceramic
department was. the first person i met was george kokis - head of the
ceramic dept.. we talked a bit, discovered that we were both from brooklyn.
i had almost no knowledge or interest in pottery at that time, but since he
was also from brooklyn i told him i would take a class with him. well, it's
an old story of love at first touch. changed my major to both sculpture and
pottery. i have to thank george for allowing me to do this, as i was a
complete beginner and was expected to do graduate level work. he did say
that i would have to learn to throw on my own. a fellow grad student helped
me. i watched him a lot, but i was also a natural at it, picked it up like
a fish in water and i did understand form. as i said, my purpose in getting
a masters was to teach but when i discovered pottery it all changed. i
realized i could make a living at this - could sell all the mugs i could
make. also, by this time, i discovered that i didn't want to teach college
(felt it was too bureaucratic for me), not who i am. at this time i really
wanted to go to japan and take an apprenticeship, but no money. we were
living on a work study, my job was making the clay, and the g.i. bill, (had
been in the army before going to cooper) but that's another story. so i took
advantage of the situation and finished the masters knowing that i would
never use it.
am now 67, have been supporting my family since 1970 through my pottery and
it all started because george and i were from brooklyn. thanks george.
norman
----- Original Message -----
From: "clennell"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2006 7:47 AM
Subject: [CLAYART] 2% cream
> Dear Dick: I am not surprised with Julia Galloways "there are only 2% of
> graduates in clay after 10 years". There are probably less than 2% of all
> people making pots that can make a living as you have, another 2% that
find
> themselves in museums and collections (other than their mothers) as you
have
> done. I prefer 16% cream in my coffee but 2% is probably a healthier
> percentage.
> I think the difference is those that want to make pots and those that
need
> to make pots.
> I am one of those that "need to" on many different levels. Firstly to eat
> and secondly because it is what defines my life and I am down right bitchy
> after 4 or 5 days of not working at some aspect of clay.
> We fired our woodkiln yesterday. It was off at 10:30am so since I do the
> night shift from 12-7 I went to bed right after and went into a coma for
an
> hour, got up and Sheila went into a coma for an hour, I trimmed some pots
> till 3 then fell into a coma again for 2 hours as did Sheila. After supper
> she said I don't want to be doing this in another 4 years. We are not 27
> anymore and we ache in places were we used to play.
> I thought we'd be doing this forever! Maybe if there really is a God she
> will deliver a few nice pots for us from this firing and we will mend and
> forget the pain. If I had experienced child birth I could draw a paralell.
4
> years will become another 4 years and then another 4.
> One Feb when money was low and I was depressed I e-mailed Ron Meyers about
> my going to U of Georgia to take my MFA.
> He emailed back-
> Dear Tony:
> Drink two bourbons and go to bed. You have the flu.
> Love,
> Ron
> P.S Who the hell would hire you anyway?
> Ya gotta love those friends. Kelly e-mails to tell us she took a woman's
cup
> to the kiln building but she switched genders and danced with my cup.
> The clay community on whatever level you hang is a darn nice bunch of
folks.
> I still say I've been a priviledged man to have spent my entire life in
the
> company of dirt balls.
> It's a rest day we get to work on our deck.
> Cheers,
> Tony
>
>
> Tony and Sheila Clennell
> Sour Cherry Pottery
> 4545 King Street
> Beamsville, Ontario
> CANADA L0R 1B1
> http://www.sourcherrypottery.com
>
>
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Elizabeth Priddy on wed 14 jun 06
After
supper
she said I don't want to be doing this in another 4
years....
______________________________
Here's a clue into the female psyche. She would not
have said this if she did not mean it.
Women have a tendency to drop the BIG stuff into
lesser conversations. That's why men miss it
sometimes.
Wait a month and bring it up at a time when she is not
exhausted. You might be surprised.
It is a man's way to keep plugging away at something
where the satisfaction is barely on par with the
effort, hence their love of golf.
It is not a woman's way. When the scales get even or,
god forbid, tilt; the jig may be up. And rather
suddenly, in man time.
There are sooo many men that can back me up. "I knew
she had been makin noises like she was unhappy...but
then one day I just came home and she was gone. Left
a note sayin I wouldn't listen..."
I am not saying she's gonna leave you. Who would?
But you might consider altering your business plan to
accommodate a loss of luster in the all night wood
fests. She may even have some better ideas than you
on what you ought to do with the next decade. You
have lived your dreams, by all accounts. It may just
be her turn.
Good luck with all that. I am saying this with a hard
won affection for you, so take it as such, man to man,
as it were.
E
Elizabeth Priddy
Beaufort, NC - USA
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
__________________________________________________
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Lee Love on thu 15 jun 06
On 6/15/06, Norman Aufrichtig wrote:
> ( at this time i really
> wanted to go to japan and take an apprenticeship, but no money. we were
> living on a work study, my job was making the clay, and the g.i. bill, (had
> been in the army before going to cooper) but that's another story. so i took
It was a big investment for us to pull up roots and move to
Japan. A travel grant supplemented spending our savings. Makes you
understand why most folks do it while they are young and single.
Costs less to move and set up.
I don't know that an experienced potter needs to do a full
apprenticeship. I am hoping to put something together for 1 to 3
month stays here in Mashiko. Something for experienced potters and
folks related to their MFAs.
> am now 67, have been supporting my family since 1970 through my pottery >and it all started because george and i were from brooklyn. thanks george.
Fate and happenstance! I think these chance events occur all
the time, but we have to be able to see them when they happen. I
was studying wood sculpture when I met my wife Jean in '83. She said
to me, "Are you a potter? You feel like a potter." She put the
idea in my head and introduced me to MacKenzie, Hamada and Shimaoka...
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
http://mashiko.org
My google Notebooks:
http://tinyurl.com/e5p3n
"The accessibility of the handmade object in today's world seems vital
and radical, and hopefully tempers our hunger for 'progress' and
rationality" - , Michael Kline
Donna Kat on sat 17 jun 06
On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 09:47:28 -0400, clennell wrote:
>I am one of those that "need to" on many different levels. Firstly to eat
>and secondly because it is what defines my life and I am down right bitchy
>after 4 or 5 days of not working at some aspect of clay.
>We fired our woodkiln yesterday. It was off at 10:30am so since I do the
>night shift from 12-7 I went to bed right after and went into a coma for an
>hour, got up and Sheila went into a coma for an hour, I trimmed some pots
>till 3 then fell into a coma again for 2 hours as did Sheila. After supper
>she said I don't want to be doing this in another 4 years. We are not 27
>anymore and we ache in places were we used to play.
>I thought we'd be doing this forever! Maybe if there really is a God she
>will deliver a few nice pots for us from this firing and we will mend and
>forget the pain. If I had experienced child birth I could draw a paralell. 4
>years will become another 4 years and then another 4.
......
Take in an apprentice that works for free just to get the training. Hell -
take in 2. It is good for creativity to bring in something new into your
life on a regular basis.
Lee Love on sun 18 jun 06
On 6/14/06, clennell wrote:
> till 3 then fell into a coma again for 2 hours as did Sheila. After supper
> she said I don't want to be doing this in another 4 years. We are not 27
> anymore and we ache in places were we used to play.
Tony, one of the reasons I built the kiln I did was because I
knew it was something I wanted to do into my old age.
Next version, I will build it to make it even easier.
Euan is thinking his next version will be a woodfired car kiln. I
will at least put the stoke doors higher: put cement bocks underneath
with a little porch at the front so the ware chamber is still easy to
get to. Sit in a rocker between the woodpile and the kiln...
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
http://mashiko.org
My google Notebooks:
http://tinyurl.com/e5p3n
"The accessibility of the handmade object in today's world seems vital
and radical, and hopefully tempers our hunger for 'progress' and
rationality" - , Michael Kline
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