Stephani Stephenson on fri 25 aug 00
Just a few words from the other side of the workshop coin. Don't know
anything about Peters Valley , repeat this is NOT a commentary on the
specific situation we have all been discussing ...but I have worked
behind the scenes at workshops.
Timing a one week workshop in which forming , throwing, drying ,
glazing , firing all take place is difficult at best. One week does not
usually offer the luxury of adequate drying time, so there is an
inherent amount of pressure on those who facilitate and fire, even in
situations where the participants themselves fire the work they made
at the workshop.
I believe it wise to either focus the workshop on wet work and
process, or on firing techniques. Often participants are encouraged to
bring or ship bisqueware if firing is to occur. It is crucial that the
workshop instructor or the appropriate clay center personnel communicate
clearly with workshop participants as to what they can EXPECT in terms
of firing...i.e. what can reasonably be fired during the course of the
workshop. This should be communicated well ahead of the workshop and
certainly well ahead of the last day.
Even so, in the heat of the workshop a couple of things happen.
First ,people get inspired and keep working gung ho even perhaps after
an announced wetware deadline. People, either through energetic
inspiration (yes!), or the desire to get their money or times worth,
suddenly become the worlds most PROLIFIC potters! Some, not all ,of
these people have every expectation that ALL of the work will be fired.
Often it is the most frenzied prolific participant that has this
expectation.
Secondly, speaking as the person who ended up firing everything at the
end of a number of workshops , I noticed a second phenomena...The desire
to give the customer a finished prize to take home sometimes exceed
one's common sense. Even when participants have been told that all their
work may not get fired, I, the person doing the firing, WANT TO FIRE ALL
THE WORK! I WANT them to take home all their work, finished and fired. I
want everyone to leave the place happy, inspired, reenergized and ready
to come back for more. . Especially when the instructors have done a
fantastic job! I figure once it is showtime, you put on a good show and
you make it work.!
However, there are, on a regular basis, a certain number of people that
will never be pleased. Example. One participant at one workshop stayed
up half the night throwing pots Thursday night and threw all morning on
Friday. The workshop ended Friday!
(I had already fired two bisque loads for people who had to leave on
Friday and had another three or four loads left, for local people who
had agreed to come pick pots up in a week.)
Standing next to 30 or 40 of her still damp pots on Friday, she demanded
that the work be fired before she left early Saturday morning. Common
sense told me I should not fire these pots ,and I had every right to
refuse, but I did it anyway. I fired them all, in my decrepit old Skutt
,( the center where I worked unbelievably did not have any kilns hooked
up). I would not necessarily advise doing this . The clay was special
workshop clay requested by the instructors, with which I had no
experience. Even with years of firing experience I could have lost that
load.
What would you do in the same situation, with an insistent ,demanding
customer?
Well, I inched that kiln up as best I could with still a morning
deadline. The bottom sides of three too thick bottle shapes shed a few
unwanted inches , but the other 35 or so pots this woman cranked out
were fine.
She showed up the next morning to claim her ware. I had gotten there at
5:30 AM on Saturday, which was to have been my day off , to unload her
pots , hot , so they would be ready for her. You know what? She whined
and complained about the three pots that blew! In fact she got fuming
mad about it.....was going to write a letter...
My overwhelming urge was to chuckle, partly at her twisted face and
angry words over such trivial things, partly at myself. Instead I just
thanked her for her participation and breathed a huge sigh of relief
when her brand new SUV disappeared down the road.
Ohhhh dear, darlins, it happens.
Stephani Stephenson
Leucadia CA
http://home.earthlink.net/~mudmistress
Alchemie Ceramic Tile Studio
Earl Brunner on sun 27 aug 00
I like it. You said it much better than I could . I tried,
but didn't like the way it came out so didn't send it.
There are far more "oddballs" taking
workshops, than giving them. The blame here has been placed
on Peters Valley. We don't know the details. One of those
"nuts" could have taken the earthenware from the wrong pile
after being told not to. Someone might have grabbed it
while no one was looking and thought they got their clay for
"free".
It seems like every work shop has at least one nut. If that
nut is the one writing to clayart, (I hasten to disclaim
here that I am not suggesting that the person that started
this thread is a nut, just that before everyone jumps to
conclusions and over reacts they need to consider the facts,
which in this case we still don't have) then are we getting
a clear picture of what happened?
If I remember rightly, Robin Hopper lost significant
workshop work a year or so ago because someone on clayart
didn't like the way they felt they had been treated when
they tried to tie up his time during non workshop time.
This can be a dangerous list when used improperly.
Stephani Stephenson wrote:
>
> Just a few words from the other side of the workshop coin. Don't know
> anything about Peters Valley , repeat this is NOT a commentary on the
> specific situation we have all been discussing ...but I have worked
> behind the scenes at workshops.
> Timing a one week workshop in which forming , throwing, drying ,
> glazing , firing all take place is difficult at best. One week does not
> usually offer the luxury of adequate drying time, so there is an
> inherent amount of pressure on those who facilitate and fire, even in
> situations where the participants themselves fire the work they made
> at the workshop.
>
> I believe it wise to either focus the workshop on wet work and
> process, or on firing techniques. Often participants are encouraged to
> bring or ship bisqueware if firing is to occur. It is crucial that the
> workshop instructor or the appropriate clay center personnel communicate
> clearly with workshop participants as to what they can EXPECT in terms
> of firing...i.e. what can reasonably be fired during the course of the
> workshop. This should be communicated well ahead of the workshop and
> certainly well ahead of the last day.
>
> Even so, in the heat of the workshop a couple of things happen.
> First ,people get inspired and keep working gung ho even perhaps after
> an announced wetware deadline. People, either through energetic
> inspiration (yes!), or the desire to get their money or times worth,
> suddenly become the worlds most PROLIFIC potters! Some, not all ,of
> these people have every expectation that ALL of the work will be fired.
> Often it is the most frenzied prolific participant that has this
> expectation.
>
> Secondly, speaking as the person who ended up firing everything at the
> end of a number of workshops , I noticed a second phenomena...The desire
> to give the customer a finished prize to take home sometimes exceed
> one's common sense. Even when participants have been told that all their
> work may not get fired, I, the person doing the firing, WANT TO FIRE ALL
> THE WORK! I WANT them to take home all their work, finished and fired. I
> want everyone to leave the place happy, inspired, reenergized and ready
> to come back for more. . Especially when the instructors have done a
> fantastic job! I figure once it is showtime, you put on a good show and
> you make it work.!
>
> However, there are, on a regular basis, a certain number of people that
> will never be pleased. Example. One participant at one workshop stayed
> up half the night throwing pots Thursday night and threw all morning on
> Friday. The workshop ended Friday!
> (I had already fired two bisque loads for people who had to leave on
> Friday and had another three or four loads left, for local people who
> had agreed to come pick pots up in a week.)
> Standing next to 30 or 40 of her still damp pots on Friday, she demanded
> that the work be fired before she left early Saturday morning. Common
> sense told me I should not fire these pots ,and I had every right to
> refuse, but I did it anyway. I fired them all, in my decrepit old Skutt
> ,( the center where I worked unbelievably did not have any kilns hooked
> up). I would not necessarily advise doing this . The clay was special
> workshop clay requested by the instructors, with which I had no
> experience. Even with years of firing experience I could have lost that
> load.
>
> What would you do in the same situation, with an insistent ,demanding
> customer?
>
> Well, I inched that kiln up as best I could with still a morning
> deadline. The bottom sides of three too thick bottle shapes shed a few
> unwanted inches , but the other 35 or so pots this woman cranked out
> were fine.
>
> She showed up the next morning to claim her ware. I had gotten there at
> 5:30 AM on Saturday, which was to have been my day off , to unload her
> pots , hot , so they would be ready for her. You know what? She whined
> and complained about the three pots that blew! In fact she got fuming
> mad about it.....was going to write a letter...
>
> My overwhelming urge was to chuckle, partly at her twisted face and
> angry words over such trivial things, partly at myself. Instead I just
> thanked her for her participation and breathed a huge sigh of relief
> when her brand new SUV disappeared down the road.
> Ohhhh dear, darlins, it happens.
>
> Stephani Stephenson
> Leucadia CA
>
> http://home.earthlink.net/~mudmistress
>
> Alchemie Ceramic Tile Studio
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
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--
Earl Brunner
http://coyote.accessnv.com/bruec
mailto:bruec@anv.net
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