Lee Love on thu 24 aug 06
On 8/24/06, primalmommy wrote:
>
> Master potter seem to me to be a tradition not of our culture, or not of
> our time. (Excepting, of course, our Asian potters --
Like I mentioned in a previous post, we can't dismiss the
apprenticeship system as simply being "Asian culture", because there
are still examples in Germany.
Unless we believe our time and culture are "perfect", we have
no excuse for not examining other ways of doing things. For over
99% of human existence, we have learned by working next to someone who
has mastered the skill we are learning. So I think there is a place
in craft for a modernized/humanized apprenticeship system. It is
one way to avoid, the MFAcation of craftwork (not that there isn't a
place for this too.) It is a great way to get an education without
having to acquire a large debt. Maybe, there needs to be a short
program for studio potters, to help them integrate apprenticeship into
their shop?
Ideally, a well rounded functional potter would have experiences
both from an apprenticeship and the studio arts. Many of my favorite
potters have this kind of background, though it seems like fewer and
fewer people are doing apprenticeships today and the situations for
them seem more difficult to find.
One possible way to do a hybrid degree would be like in the
MSW degree, where the an internship finishes the program.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
http://potters.blogspot.com/
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi
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