Another one from the archives. Circa 2000.
You might say my ceramics teacher is strict. A studio potter herself, she always gives you the feeling that her pottery class is not for hobbyists. It is very serious and rules should be obeyed. Grades are recorded and attendance is kept. It is a college course after all. But a smile from her and a comment such as "such a sweet pot" is the grade itself.
You see potters all around you, masters, you think, yet trying very hard to perfect their skills. they sit in rapt attention, taking notes and making drawings as their mentor spins balls of clay into fantastic yet functional forms. They shake their heads in wonder as the grey stuff obeys the nuances of her hands.
As she goes through the motions she's repeated so often, beginning and advanced students alike are enthralled by the magic that seems to be happening in front of them. "Use the weight of your body", "keep your wrists down", and "make your fingers like a paw", she says with just a touch of a Tennessee accent. You'll hear all that when you're ready, perhaps one pearl of wisdom at a time.....maybe after you've made your 20th lopsided bowl or your 40th thick-bottomed cylinder,
You repeat your mistakes and finally decide to do as she suggests and cut through the darned things and you see the problem. The wall of the pot is noticeably thicker at the bottom, thinner at the top. So THAT'S why my 85 year old mother had trouble lifting her beloved coffee cup! Help me, help me to figure this out....to bring the clay up from the bottom!
So you throw and cut and throw and cut with a passion! You have a semester that you think you won't have very much to show for, but you're better, you know it... There was that time she talked you through a pull and you actually felt the lump ride up the side of the pot. It was like a religious experience. "I feel the lump!", you cried.
The benefit of being in a class setting, is that right after you figured this out, like a chain reaction, the person next to you, after watching your struggles, follows the same instructions. With the teacher guiding her, she holds her hands in just the right way and feels that, at least for this moment, she's doing something right. The excitement built as we watched the bump of clay climb up the side of her cylinder. The pot grew taller and she carefully finished off the top rim and pulled away gently. The joy on her face was infectious. She looked up at the teacher and the gathered students and said, "I felt it! I felt the lump!" Somebody in the room said "Hallelujah".
(This was written about Mary Law, a studio potter in Berkeley, California)
You might say my ceramics teacher is strict. A studio potter herself, she always gives you the feeling that her pottery class is not for hobbyists. It is very serious and rules should be obeyed. Grades are recorded and attendance is kept. It is a college course after all. But a smile from her and a comment such as "such a sweet pot" is the grade itself.
You see potters all around you, masters, you think, yet trying very hard to perfect their skills. they sit in rapt attention, taking notes and making drawings as their mentor spins balls of clay into fantastic yet functional forms. They shake their heads in wonder as the grey stuff obeys the nuances of her hands.
As she goes through the motions she's repeated so often, beginning and advanced students alike are enthralled by the magic that seems to be happening in front of them. "Use the weight of your body", "keep your wrists down", and "make your fingers like a paw", she says with just a touch of a Tennessee accent. You'll hear all that when you're ready, perhaps one pearl of wisdom at a time.....maybe after you've made your 20th lopsided bowl or your 40th thick-bottomed cylinder,
You repeat your mistakes and finally decide to do as she suggests and cut through the darned things and you see the problem. The wall of the pot is noticeably thicker at the bottom, thinner at the top. So THAT'S why my 85 year old mother had trouble lifting her beloved coffee cup! Help me, help me to figure this out....to bring the clay up from the bottom!
So you throw and cut and throw and cut with a passion! You have a semester that you think you won't have very much to show for, but you're better, you know it... There was that time she talked you through a pull and you actually felt the lump ride up the side of the pot. It was like a religious experience. "I feel the lump!", you cried.
The benefit of being in a class setting, is that right after you figured this out, like a chain reaction, the person next to you, after watching your struggles, follows the same instructions. With the teacher guiding her, she holds her hands in just the right way and feels that, at least for this moment, she's doing something right. The excitement built as we watched the bump of clay climb up the side of her cylinder. The pot grew taller and she carefully finished off the top rim and pulled away gently. The joy on her face was infectious. She looked up at the teacher and the gathered students and said, "I felt it! I felt the lump!" Somebody in the room said "Hallelujah".
(This was written about Mary Law, a studio potter in Berkeley, California)
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