Marie Gibbons on fri 28 nov 97
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Dan Wilson wrote: (I chose the parts of his letter that really explain how I
feel about "errors and mistakes")
In every way it is the equal of all other bowls. It is facinating in its
complexity. The glaze is "etherial" They said. It has transformed itself into
an evening sky.
"A quiet interplay of transparency and opacity that engages our attention."
They said. A fine network of crazing lends a quiet texture to its overall
appearance. "It
looks so old." and "The lip of this bowl is cracked - It somehow seemes
appropriate. This bowl is not beautiful. It is perplexing - and it looks so
old."... They said. "I did that on purpose." I said.
I contributed to this thread a while ago, explaining how I felt that
"mistakes" can often make a piece come together even better than it started
in our minds, I think what Dan writes really validates the point of working
with a mishap.
One difference that I do recognize is the fact that I do fine art not
functional work. I am aware that there is a difference in the "quality"
needs of these two different realms. I can't tell you how many times a piece
has directed me through "mishaps" that I am just stubborn enough not to let
break my spirit about the piece. I have this nagging drive to make whatever
I am working on WORK! Call it stubborness, or stupidity, I have a hard time
just watching a piece die. This doesn't mean that the piece goes "out there"
as a second rate art piece, I strive to finish all my work in a professional,
finished, polished presentation. It just means that I need to think about
the piece in a new light, see what this uncontrollable detour is trying to
tell me.
The finished piece never tells of the tramas it has survived, but only shows
the knowledge, the communications, the beauty that it has directed. When I
have worked to "repair or redirect" a piece I am the only one who knows that
it didn't start out with this exact intention. Oddly, one of the things I
enjoy the most about my work is not ever really knowing where it is going to
end up, but always ending up somewhere it intended on getting.
Thanks for listening to my 2 cents
Marie Gibbons
Arvada, CO
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