priddy on mon 13 nov 00
I truly appreciate what you are saying and =
I don't have any problem with it.
I especially appreciate that you are thinking about it in =
a different light. That is about all I can contribute in the
final analysis, a different light. =
I will respond to one specific thing, just for a little clarity.
Karen Sullivan wrote:
> You have an interesting but to me somewhat curious response to the valu=
e
> of one's sources. Perhaps your philosophical orientation to ideas ...
> Not necessarily whether the idea is new, but the process of problem
> solving and innovation which provides the path to new discoveries.
The value I ascribe to my sources of inspiration and credit that I give
to innovators is great, but limited by a realization of the place of idea=
s =
over time. =
There is an idea in philosophy that we are all part of one mind working w=
ithin
a time continuum. Each of our discrete ideas and innovations as individu=
als
would occur regardless of the individual they occurred to because the ide=
a is
what has continuity, not the individual. The process of individuation for=
particular people, the creation of a working set of ideas that defines on=
e
individual mind from another, is so specific for one individual that to t=
ry to
map it is not only impossible but irrelevant. In other words, progress wi=
ll go
on with or with out you. =
Or: You are what you are but only for a short time. Specific focus on
individuation is misguided and distracts people from the true purpose of =
life.
It's this way for everyone, for all time. You re-invent the whole world=
each
time you wake up and start again. And the tools for creativity, the idea=
s
existing in the world are independent of whether you have access to them =
at
any given moment. =
For example, you forget an important concept for a long time and then it
occurs to you again. The idea did not blink out, your awareness of it di=
d. =
And if you are Soldner and you have sublimated the halo process to the lo=
west
order in your consciousness, you have forgotten about it for a while...ca=
n
others still do it during the time you are not thinking about it? Of cou=
rse
they can. And there you have the metaphysical connection of an individua=
l to
an idea in a nutshell. It is loose at subjective best.
Soldner may be the very first person to do raku that way, or he might not=
=2E He
gets the credit, regardless and that is fine. Those are social contract
ownership issues. A lot of good it does any of us! Including him...he doe=
s
what he does and some other guy may have been doing it 5 minutes before h=
im or
5 after. Now who gets the credit and who is an imposter? I would conten=
d
that you should focus on what you are doing rather than who did it and wh=
en. =
I lost a lot of points on tests in school because of a similar attitude
towards specific historical dates. Guess what? If one of these types of=
topics shows itself to be relevant, I can look it up. I rarely look these=
things up, because they are rarely relevant.
I am extremely respectful of people, though. And of ideas. But I don't
necessarily connect the two up the way you do. I am just as free with wh=
at I
know as well. That makes me a good teacher. I also have a good memory a=
nd
can guide my students to other people to learn from. I can usually remem=
ber
who I got something from, and can/do pass it on. But I don't get thrown =
out
fo joint when I am not given credit, as I know that it is of limited valu=
e. =
For the first ten years I did not sign my work, either. Not because I fo=
rgot,
but because it did not matter. It still does not matter, really. But a =
long
time ago, I began to sign it. I have my reasons, it is a philisophical
compromise. I am not proud of that. When i am old and no longer need to=
make
money, I will not longer sign my work. Let the collectors and historians=
figure it out. If it is not identifiable as my work by then, it surely do=
es
not matter... =
I apologise or the length of this and the obtusosity! I made that word u=
p,
just now...make sure you give me credit and remember the date!
I respect and appreciate your thoughts. Keep them coming!
=
respectfully submitted,
elizabeth priddy
priddy-clay@usa.net
http://www.angelfire.com/nc/clayworkshop
____________________________________________________________________
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