Lee Love on thu 24 aug 06
On 8/24/06, clennell wrote:
> having a couple of years to prepare for a show is a luxury beyond my
> imagination.
It is enticing! It is something that has made me think about
going back to school.
>Sheila and I usually give ourselves 3 months max.
For my graduation show at the end of my 3 year apprenticeship,
because the show date was moved up several months from what was
originally planned, I had only 3 months to set up my studio, buy
materials, build my kiln entirely by myself (first time I ever laid
brick in my life), and make all the work for the show and have my
first firing.
I had to make the work without the use of my thumbs for the
first half of the work, because I sprained them from the brick work I
had to do to finish the kiln (Mason's thumbs?) I finished building
the kiln like a monkey: I learned how to pick bricks up without the
use of my "opposable" thumbs. Two hands fill in for no thumbs.
My work in my graduation show was all from my first firing
(and one re-firing.) The kiln Gods smiled upon me (that, and also I
watched Euan fire his kiln of the same design and had been putting
glaze and clay tests in his kiln for a couple years.)
Grad school is really tempting, especially if it was combined
with a full GA job.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
http://potters.blogspot.com/
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi
clennell on thu 24 aug 06
I've been thinkin' about my post about my brother the street fighter versus
the black belt. My point is that some get the job done. It is what they set
out to do and have to do. Kelly's faculty advisor doubting her ability to
have a grad show in 2 years would have me pop a vein. those of us that show
our work sign contracts once or twice a year saying that we will have a
"grad show" in such and such gallery on such and such date and the work will
be new and the best we are capable of doing at that time. We will get the
job done. Oh, it isn't quite right, oh I need another crit, excuses,
excuses, excuses. oh, the gallery director doesn't give a crap and if you
don't deliver that's your last invite. They booked the gallery 2 years in
advance, spent money pimping you and you calf on them. Not good! You need
the show, the money and want to move on to new work and get this behind you.
Like a business has a life cycle so does a potter.
having a couple of years to prepare for a show is a luxury beyond my
imagination. Sheila and I usually give ourselves 3 months max.
The kiln is cooling. A hard fought battle with the train. I made some
mistakes. The kiln made us pay. The pots are destined for shows. We have 5-6
woodfirings a year. We each have about a dozen pots in this firing we're
hoping for. that's 60 pots a year for exhibition. How may of the 60 will be
racers? there's our grad show.
Tonight I ache where I used to play.
Best,
Tony
Tony and Sheila Clennell
Sour Cherry Pottery
4545 King Street
Beamsville, Ontario
CANADA L0R 1B1
How To Make Handmade Cane Handles, Taking the Macho Outta Bigware
and Get a Handle On It DVD's available at
http://www.sourcherrypottery.com
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