I was invited by my old pal Drew Nicklas to be part of an exhibit at Pottery Northwest in Seattle entitled “Four By Four”.  The theme of the show was some of the current resident artists there at the arts center inviting some of their friends and mentors to send pieces and create a diverse group of work.   I tried to get him to tell me if I qualified as a friend or a mentor, but I never really got a definitive answer on that.

Drew and I go way back to the very beginning of my little adventure in clay, to our undergraduate days when we spent many hours in the ceramics building and the kiln yard even though neither of us was an art major.  Who would have known that both of us would end up taking a potter’s path?  We soon went in different directions, I from the West Coast to the East in search of better clay, and he on to another non-art degree and then to a MFA in ceramics. It has been nice to stay in touch over the years, and funny enough, after all that we both found our way to wood firing.

So here’s to another well-spoken wood firer out there.  And here’s to good friends and good mentors.  I’ve learned a lot from a lot of folks over the years.  Some people pass by quickly and utter a brief little phrase that you can never forget.  Some people let you fire their kiln, their soda kiln no less, when you really need one.  Whether it’s an honest appraisal of your latest work or bit of encouragement or a little help getting the kiln to finish off in the wee hours, I appreciate all the help I’m gotten along the way.

The exhibit will be up for the rest of the month, and there is an opening reception tonight. [March 6, 2010] I can’t make it as it is in Seattle and I am not…but if you stop by tell ‘em I send my best.

In preparing for a few upcoming events, I’ve been cruising through images of old work and  thinking a lot lately about how this whole pottery thing got started and where it has been going.

Here is the quick version:

like a lot of clay people, I got started by accident and I was hooked before I even knew it.

Having realized that I wanted to refine and expand my skills as a craftsman and a potter, and that this might very well require so much time that it could not be relegated to a hobby, I decided the best way to improve my skills and therefore my work was to simply work as much as possible.  The theory was that the act of creating pots in the studio would lead to better and better work.  Although I do not stop and critically assess my work as often as I should, I have always had my own little inner critic which pushes my work forward even if it seems to be in tiny little steps.

I always wondered if other potters and creative types had this same little voice, the “perfectionist” voice?  I’ve long since accepted that the little voice will not go away, and so I’ve had to adopt various strategies to deal with it and still maintain my own sanity. Especially as a creator of things who returns to the same forms in a repetitive cycle, who then subjects those things to an uncontrolled firing process, one must not wait for perfection.  But I do believe that the “perfectionist” voice has value as it has caused me to always seek to improve my forms…sometimes in tiny little ways that no one else may even see…but to continue improving and refining as I go.

I’ve found several examples of this recently.

I heard a story on the radio about an Olympic athlete describing her training process.  She described the physical and mental rigors of training day in and day out, of the hundreds of thoughts racing through her head and she raced around the track.  And how after crossing the finish line and looking up to see the time, she felt ‘it is always bad’.

I sighed when I heard that…I know what you mean I said.

I found another expression of this idea in a video clip of Ira Glass discussing what some creative people go through as they are honing their skills.   He was talking mainly about writers and producers, but the point is the same.  I would summarize it as:

As you are working, you know that your work lacks something and even without knowing what exactly it is that is lacking it does not measure up to what you consider ‘great’.  So you keep working.  On your skills and your product and refining and editing.  And this may take years.

I just ran across this letter, which was in response to this article. These point to this issue plus a whole lot more for another day.

I can really relate to both sides of this discussion.  There are some days when I want to smash half of the pots I just made simply because they are not right, just not good enough.  Then again how can I go around smashing half of what I just made?  On “those” days I have come to remember a passing line I never forgot, uttered by a potter more experienced than I:  “it’s an emotional roller coaster,  being a potter.”

I have determined that the little voice really is helpful.  On “those” days I usually walk away from the ware board before smashing many pots.  And although I generally still do not like looking back at older pots, I tend to look now at where things have gone rather than where they were then.

Here are a few examples of one of my favorite forms, one from each of the last four years.  I certainly like the most recent one the best, but maybe it’s just me.

The last week has seen the first pots of the next firing cycle.  Some times it seems odd how much time is spent not in the studio when one is supposedly a studio potter.  Aside from all of the general day to day duties, the stacking  and moving of wood to heat the house, etc., there is always something else to be done.  Usually on the computer it seems.  Just when you think you may never get started making pots, you get enough things crossed off  of the list that it seems safe to venture into the studio.  You remember that you enjoy being in there creating endless boards of pots even if they have no particular destination at that moment.  You wonder why you procrastinated beginning, and does anyone else out there do the same thing?  And then you check into the blogosphere and realize that sometimes an assignment is useful, and yes we potters do have some sort of  instinct to procrastinate the very thing we enjoy the most.  Strange creatures, but at least I know I’m not the only one.

Lucky for me, I had made it into the studio a day or two before the Michael Kline Challenge otherwise I may not have finished my assignment.  I had already made a board of small bowls, trimmed and slipped them, so I was ready to make another.

Now it’s onto other familiar forms and a few new ones too.  And not a day too soon, somehow February is moving right along and March is filling up already.  Just as the show at Claymakers is coming down  I’ll be teaching a one-day demonstration workshop with Joy Tanner at their studio in Durham, NC.  It will be a great chance to see two different approaches to forming and altering pots, with two potters dedicated to the soda firing process.  More details to come, but the workshop is scheduled for Saturday, March 13th, 10-5pm.

Later in March I’ll begin co-teaching a 9 week class that meets once a week class with Linda McFarling focused on making pots for salt and soda at the Odyssey Center, in Asheville, NC.  Teaching again down at my old stomping grounds and with one of my clay mentors too.  Should be a good time.

Better get busy making that kiln load of pots to fire by then.

A new year is off to a good start with a few exciting plans on the horizon, and hopefully a few more yet to come. Of course, we can only print those that have been confirmed as of this date…but stay tuned for more details of upcoming shows and workshops…

First up for the new year is the show I mentioned before…

If you’re in the Durham, NC area be sure to check out the exhibit at Claymakers, “Asheville In the Bull City”. Curator and potter Ronan Peterson invited five potters from the Asheville area and we all sent 30 or more pieces.

There is an opening reception this Friday, January 15 from 6:00pm-9:00pm. The show will run from January 15 to March 12, 2010.

I’m heading down the mountain for the opening and looking forward to seeing a room full of these folks’ work.  Even when you think you know the work of a potter well, it is always a pleasure to see a multitude of pieces filling a room.

Here’s a little bit from their website:

“Claymakers invites five Asheville, North Carolina area ceramic artists to exhibit their distinctive functional vessels in the Bull City. This exhibit includes the work of Will Baker, Patty Bilbro, Kyle Carpenter, Karen Newgard, and Lindsay Rogers. Each of these functional potters has developed a singular interpretation of everyday pottery, from the graphic, black-on-white porcelain of Karen Newgard to the warm, earthy, atmospheric stoneware of Will Baker. Each artist employs their own approach to surface and decoration, with Lindsay Rogers’ minimal, detailed lines and textures nicely contrasted by the intimate brushwork of Patty Bilbro and Kyle Carpenter’s bold salt fired slip and glaze brushwork. Don’t miss this special showing near downtown Durham of some of the best ceramics the mountains of western North Carolina have to offer.”

Wanted to wish every one out there in blogland Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.  I’ve been out of the studio for a few weeks but staying busy as always…where did the month of December go anyway?

Here’s a brief  review of  the last few weeks:

• the last two sales wound up all right
• started working on a few new pieces in the studio
• had a great big snowstorm in Appalachia
• fired the little baby soda kiln
• packed up a few boxes of pottery for the show in Durham next month at Claymakers.
• featured as one of the Artists of the Day on the blog ‘Musing about Mud’

…If you’re a ceramic artist and you don’t know about this blog, you just might be missing out.  Carole posts information about exhibitions, shows, calls for entry, and job openings from all over the ceramic world.  For the month of December she also posted a different  Artist of the Day each day, highlighting ceramic artists from all ends of the spectrum, and I was pleased to see that I was included…

Although I’ve taken down the online sale at the Etsy Shop for now, it will be back in January.  If you have any questions just drop me a note.

In the first few weeks of the new year I’ll have some more details on the show at Claymakers, as well as information on a possible one or two day workshop there.

Thanks for reading and following along this year!

The Holiday Season is fast approaching and I’m putting the finishing touches on the online sales gallery.

Here is a sneak peek of some of the pots going online this weekend.

I’ve set aside a nice selection of pieces from the Fall firings this year to offer in the ETSY SHOP, and I hope to have all the new photos uploaded and the shelves dusted off and the e-cards sent out soon.

Stay tuned here and I’ll announce when the pots are all listed.

Did you know that over on the right side of the blog there are a number of ways you can stay in touch?

• The first link takes you to the Contact page of my website, where you can sign-up your email address to be included in an email newsletter I send out once a month or so.
• You can also Subscribe to the Blog, in your blog reader of choice, if you’re into that sort of thing.
• Or you can Subscribe to Email Updates–just enter your email address in the little box there and every time a new post comes here to the website, it will show up in your email inbox too!  Can’t get any easier than that.

This little group of three tumblers went to New Orleans recently as part of an Annual Invitational Juried Exhibition held at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and titled ”The Art of the Cup: Functional Comfort”.  I was very pleased to be included in this event and happy that at least my tumblers were heading to New Orleans even if it is without me. 

The exhibition is put on by The Center for Southern Craft and Design, and if you happen to be in the area it opens November 12th and closes on December 13th.

Since the organizers wanted me to send along some images of the pieces I was sending, it was a great chance to hold onto some of my favorite pieces from the last firing and try to get some images of those too.  It’s great to get the images of the pieces, but also just to keep them around for a bit for observation. 

A few of these pieces might make their way to another exhibition that has come up recently thanks to potter Ronan Peterson. 

He’s invited a great group of potters from the mountains around Asheville to get together for a show at Claymakers in Durham, NC. It looks like the show will be called “Asheville in the Bull City” , and will run from January 15-March 12, 2010.  The potters will include Karen Newgard, Kyle Carpenter, Lindsay Rogers, Patty Bilbro, and myself.

Each potter is sending at least 30 pieces, so it is sure to be a room full of great work!

The October firings went well, although each one lasted a few hours longer than usual. Here are some pictures from the unloading of the 14^th firing, showing a larger serving bowl, a mug, and a new vase form. Many of the dinner plates and most of the square jars have all ready found a good home, but I’ll have a good supply of fresh pottery for the next few events.

Come on out to the Western North Carolina Pottery Festival in Dillsboro, NC on November 7^th.

Click here for more info and a map.

December 4^th – 6^th is the Annual Toe River Studio Tour.

I’ll be heading down the mountain to set-up shop at John Britt’s studio near the Penland School along with fellow potters Joy Tanner and Susan Feagin, and woodcarver Rodney Hopkins. Click here for more info and a map.

If you haven’t already made your plans to head up to the mountains this weekend, it’s not too late. The fall colors are starting to come in, and this weekend you can find all of these potters under one roof.

The Spruce Pine Potters Market is held in Spruce Pine, North Carolina this Saturday and Sunday, October 10th and 11th 2009, from 10:00-5:00 both days.

I’m sure there are still warm pots coming out of a kiln somewhere in Mitchell County about now.

Check out the website for a full list of artists and directions,

www.sprucepinepottersmarket.com

Up on the mountain Fall has been creeping in since the last of August, with rain rain rain. This working cycle seems to be taking forever, but I’m finally nearing the end in the studio with hopes of firing the kiln in the next two weeks.

The pottery is slowly piling up, plates and bowls and jars and bottles. This time around I’ve ended up making more of the complicated and time consuming squared pots than I would normally make at one time. Surely this is part of why the productivity seems so low. But on the bright side, the pots stood still long enough for me to shoot some photos of the process of the squared forms and the many steps along the way. So stay tuned for that…