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workshop story

updated sun 3 oct 10

 

Vince Pitelka on fri 1 oct 10


Liz Willoughby wrote:
Well, sometimes the ego thing gets out of hand, and I suppose it is natural
to only show our best work, however it is encouraging for beginner potters
to realize that we don't just start out making exceptional work.

Liz -
I guess I have always had fairly exacting standards, but there are not many
pieces I have ever done that I am ashamed of. But then, there was that
period of painting little cattails and flowers on my pots . . . .

Mostly I am proud of the work I have done in the past, and I like to show i=
t
to people. I am not sure how ego enters into it. Is it ego to have worked
hard and accomplished some level of proficiency in one's craft, and to be
proud of showing that to people? I don't think so. Anyone who wants to see
the work I have done past or present can go to the gallery section of my
website at http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/gallery/gallery.htm. However, I
should point out that the gallery does not include the ancient work that I
find embarrassing. On the other hand, I have one of the very first pots I
made at Humboldt State University, sitting on my dresser in the bedroom, an=
d
I am damned proud of it. The glaze crawled, but it is a nice little form.
- Vince

Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka@dtccom.net; wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka

Arnold Howard on fri 1 oct 10


From: "Elizabeth Willoughby"
Man was it ugly, bad form, glazing
> awful, appendages strange, especially the spout, stranger
> still, it did
> pour. There was a gasp and a moment of complete silence
> from the audience. . .
-------------
Liz, I love how you captured your audience's attention.

Years ago I made a 35mm slide show for Paragon's kiln
maintenance seminar. It consists of about 120 slides.
Interspersed are a series of humorous slides of one of the
employees. (I don't even remember his name.) He volunteered
to wear an old, stained lab coat and let me photograph him
making mistakes. In one photo, an element is wrapped around
his neck. In another, his lab coat is caught in a case
tightener.

The slides are goofy, but they made a lot of people laugh.

Sincerely,

Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com

Lee Love on fri 1 oct 10


On Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 11:41 AM, Elizabeth Willoughby
wrote:

One of my first pots from my first clay class with Curt Hoard at the
UofMN (I made a smaller one first and then this coil built jar:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3D3D5707689&l=3D3De33d0f7f5b&id=3D3D5=
507270=3D
56

--
=3DA0Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/

=3D93Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel
the artistry moving through and be silent.=3D94 --Rumi

Marcia Selsor on fri 1 oct 10


Liz,

I can agree with using an example of where you started going to what you =
=3D
have become..
but I have been through slide presentations that are excrutiatingly =3D
boring covering 4 decades of not interesting work and with little =3D
commentery by the presenter and going on for hours...next tray =3D
please....4 or 5 trays of slides later ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!=3D20
I think 50-60 minutes is plenty and good examples or even bad examples =3D
with a point to cover.
As always in clay..there are no iron clad rules..
Just keep the attention of the audience.

Marcia


On Oct 1, 2010, at 11:41 AM, Elizabeth Willoughby wrote:

> James Freeman asked for advice about giving workshops:
>=3D20
> Everyone has given such good advice about giving workshops, that I am =3D
saving
> each and every one, and James, I am sure that your workshop will be
> interesting and well received.
>=3D20
> Regarding showing old slides (or now Power Point presentations), many =3D
years
> ago I was giving a slide presentation at a Fusion Conference (The =3D
Ontario
> Clay and Glass Assoc). I started out with a slide of the second =3D
teapot that
> I had made, 12 years earlier. Man was it ugly, bad form, glazing
> awful, appendages strange, especially the spout, stranger still, it =3D
did
> pour. There was a gasp and a moment of complete silence from the =3D
audience. .
> .You know the feeling that one gets when you suspect it is going to be =
=3D
a
> terrible, boring, or even embarrassing presentation, . . . I said, =3D
"This is
> how I began, and now I will show you how a potters' work can evolve =3D
and grow
> over time". big sigh! I then continued to show slides of some past =3D
but
> mostly current work. . . I showed that first slide because I wanted =3D
the
> beginning potters there to realize that we don't start making =3D
beautiful pots
> at once. . it takes time and work.
> Later many potters came up to me and said "Geez that took courage!, =3D
great
> presentation"
> Well, sometimes the ego thing gets out of hand, and I suppose it is =3D
natural
> to only show our best work, however it is encouraging for beginner =3D
potters
> to realize that we don't just start out making exceptional work.
> I know there are many potter stories out there, let's hear some.
> --
> Liz Willoughby
> Brighton/Grafton,
> Ontario, Canada
>=3D20
> from beautiful Brighton, where the leaves are all colors of the =3D
rainbow and
> more, and the pumpkins are really for cooking.
>=3D20

Marcia Selsor
http://www.marciaselsor.com

Elizabeth Willoughby on fri 1 oct 10


James Freeman asked for advice about giving workshops:

Everyone has given such good advice about giving workshops, that I am savin=
g
each and every one, and James, I am sure that your workshop will be
interesting and well received.

Regarding showing old slides (or now Power Point presentations), many years
ago I was giving a slide presentation at a Fusion Conference (The Ontario
Clay and Glass Assoc). I started out with a slide of the second teapot tha=
t
I had made, 12 years earlier. Man was it ugly, bad form, glazing
awful, appendages strange, especially the spout, stranger still, it did
pour. There was a gasp and a moment of complete silence from the audience. =
.
.You know the feeling that one gets when you suspect it is going to be a
terrible, boring, or even embarrassing presentation, . . . I said, "This i=
s
how I began, and now I will show you how a potters' work can evolve and gro=
w
over time". big sigh! I then continued to show slides of some past but
mostly current work. . . I showed that first slide because I wanted the
beginning potters there to realize that we don't start making beautiful pot=
s
at once. . it takes time and work.
Later many potters came up to me and said "Geez that took courage!, great
presentation"
Well, sometimes the ego thing gets out of hand, and I suppose it is natural
to only show our best work, however it is encouraging for beginner potters
to realize that we don't just start out making exceptional work.
I know there are many potter stories out there, let's hear some.
--
Liz Willoughby
Brighton/Grafton,
Ontario, Canada

from beautiful Brighton, where the leaves are all colors of the rainbow and
more, and the pumpkins are really for cooking.

David Woof on sat 2 oct 10


A good post Liz=3D2C I hope this gives everyone a chance to read again or =
mu=3D
se it slowly if they missed it the first time. I think we can all come away=
=3D
with something.
=3D20
David Woof
=3D20
Date: Fri=3D2C 1 Oct 2010 12:41:42 -0400
From: Elizabeth Willoughby
Subject: Workshop Story
=3D20
James Freeman asked for advice about giving workshops:
=3D20
Everyone has given such good advice about giving workshops=3D2C that I am s=
av=3D
ing
each and every one=3D2C and James=3D2C I am sure that your workshop will be
interesting and well received.
=3D20
Regarding showing old slides (or now Power Point presentations)=3D2C many y=
ea=3D
rs
ago I was giving a slide presentation at a Fusion Conference (The Ontario
Clay and Glass Assoc). I started out with a slide of the second teapot that
I had made=3D2C 12 years earlier. Man was it ugly=3D2C bad form=3D2C glazin=
g
awful=3D2C appendages strange=3D2C especially the spout=3D2C stranger still=
=3D2C it=3D
did
pour. There was a gasp and a moment of complete silence from the audience. =
=3D
.
.You know the feeling that one gets when you suspect it is going to be a
terrible=3D2C boring=3D2C or even embarrassing presentation=3D2C . . . I sa=
id=3D2C =3D
"This is
how I began=3D2C and now I will show you how a potters' work can evolve and=
g=3D
row
over time". big sigh! I then continued to show slides of some past but
mostly current work. . . I showed that first slide because I wanted the
beginning potters there to realize that we don't start making beautiful pot=
=3D
s
at once. . it takes time and work.
Later many potters came up to me and said "Geez that took courage!=3D2C gre=
at
presentation"
Well=3D2C sometimes the ego thing gets out of hand=3D2C and I suppose it is=
nat=3D
ural
to only show our best work=3D2C however it is encouraging for beginner pott=
er=3D
s
to realize that we don't just start out making exceptional work.
I know there are many potter stories out there=3D2C let's hear some.
--
Liz Willoughby
Brighton/Grafton=3D2C
Ontario=3D2C Canada
=3D20
from beautiful Brighton=3D2C where the leaves are all colors of the rainbow=
a=3D
nd
more=3D2C and the pumpkins are really for cooking.
=3D20

=3D20


=3D

Lee Love on sat 2 oct 10


My pre-workshop slides only have a couple shots of my work in them.
I do a little biographical stuff, a little about my teacher's workshop
and shots of Mashiko and some of my workshop. I brought actual
pots for people to see.


--
=3DA0Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/

=3D93Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel
the artistry moving through and be silent.=3D94 --Rumi

Vince Pitelka on sat 2 oct 10


Arnold Howard wrote:
"The slides are goofy, but they made a lot of people laugh."

Arnold -
Last spring when I was doing the chemistry and physics of clay and glazes
for my advanced class, the first lecture was an introduction to ceramic
chemistry, and aside from the periodic table of the elements there were few
photographs. This is going to seem incredibly hokey to people who do not
have children or grandchildren, but all I can say is that it worked
spectacularly. I interspersed some of the best photos I have taken of my
grandkids, and my students loved it. It really made them pay attention,
anticipating each text or image panel. I know that they absorbed more of th=
e
information about ceramic chemistry because they felt very positive about
the presentation.

Sometimes we have to resort to trickery and gimmickry.
- Vince

Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka@dtccom.net; wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka