mel jacobson on sun 6 sep 98
craft is work. we often confuse emotion, feelings, and other brain related
stress with not being able to work.
sorry, should not do that.
it was like being a kid, on the farm for the first time, and looking at a
10 acre field full of oats bundles.....i could cry, stomp my feet...carry
on, but
i had to move all of those bundles, and no one was going to help me, so
get on with it.
or, the multi- thousand tea bowls in japan. they had to be thrown, and we
had to do
it.....mr. uchida did not give a damn if i had a head ache, emotional
feelings,
or if i was blue........gd it. `get those bowls made and do it now.`
as those who read my posts know...i do say my piece.....and i do not
believe for a
moment
that potters or artists totally work with emotion, we pretend to. art and
craft
is intelligent decision making. the use of the brain. it is not raw
emotion.
genius, new ideas, a new series only happens after a day of work...hard
work, new ideas are usually subtle..they creep on you.......of course if all
of your new ideas come from the last issue of ceramics monthly, you are in
deep shit anyway. and no one can help you.
years of working makes a style, makes you what you are.
it does not happen in two weeks, `so get on with it`......
in fact, without question, the work, the effort and the sweat is the great
cure.
mel/mn
p.s.
we just lost our family golden retreiver, had her put down.
the same day i went to the kennel and got a new one. gave it to my son.
told him, `it is time to get on with a new dog, can't bring back the old one`.
he said, `just like granpa, don't wallow in it, do something positive, do
something
with meaning`. welcome baby `chutney`, six weeks old, and has a new
home. my son is busy.
http://www.pclink.com/melpots
Virgil & Susan Leise on mon 7 sep 98
I totally agree with mel! I am glad to see someone has work values like
I do. I always feel better after making pots because it is a sense of
accomplishment and I am thinking about what I am doing and not the
problems of the day! Don't make life harder than it is!!
Susan in Nebr.
Dwiggins, Sandra (NCI) on wed 9 sep 98
While we all have various emotionally draining experiences---we do have to earn
our keep and get on with it. When I'm feeling like crap, I still have to go to
work, pay the bills, etc. and in general, get on with it. If I earned my
total living as a potter, I would have to get on with it, too. Producing
production ware---multi-thousand tea bowls--does not require the engagement of
"soul" or whatever. It's part of the job. There are always mind-numbing parts
of any repetitious project. I always felt that the mind-numbing repetition
helped when I was in real distress---like the time my ex-husband had a huge
brain tumor. It's really great to have something that doesn't require too much
thought or decision making. Producing 50 mugs is like that---even when things
aren't going well in other places---you can look at those mugs and still feel
you've accomplished something.... For me, wedging lots of clay helps me work
out soul-kinks and other issues. Some of the best solutions to problems I
thought were unsolvable have come at the end of a day immersing myself in clay
work.
Amen, mel
Sandy Dwiggins
-----Original Message-----
From: mel jacobson [SMTP:melpots@pclink.com]
Sent: Sunday, September 06, 1998 10:16 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: whining/the brain
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
craft is work. we often confuse emotion, feelings, and other brain related
stress with not being able to work.
sorry, should not do that.
it was like being a kid, on the farm for the first time, and looking at a
10 acre field full of oats bundles.....i could cry, stomp my feet...carry
on, but
i had to move all of those bundles, and no one was going to help me, so
get on with it.
or, the multi- thousand tea bowls in japan. they had to be thrown, and we
had to do
it.....mr. uchida did not give a damn if i had a head ache, emotional
feelings,
or if i was blue........gd it. `get those bowls made and do it now.`
as those who read my posts know...i do say my piece.....and i do not
believe for a
moment
that potters or artists totally work with emotion, we pretend to. art and
craft
is intelligent decision making. the use of the brain. it is not raw
emotion.
genius, new ideas, a new series only happens after a day of work...hard
work, new ideas are usually subtle..they creep on you.......of course if all
of your new ideas come from the last issue of ceramics monthly, you are in
deep shit anyway. and no one can help you.
years of working makes a style, makes you what you are.
it does not happen in two weeks, `so get on with it`......
in fact, without question, the work, the effort and the sweat is the great
cure.
mel/mn
p.s.
we just lost our family golden retreiver, had her put down.
the same day i went to the kennel and got a new one. gave it to my son.
told him, `it is time to get on with a new dog, can't bring back the old one`.
he said, `just like granpa, don't wallow in it, do something positive, do
something
with meaning`. welcome baby `chutney`, six weeks old, and has a new
home. my son is busy.
http://www.pclink.com/melpots
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