I wanted to post the results of the "cheating" pot and also thank all the bloggers who left comments and telling me how they "cheat" while making pots.
I found it very interesting.
It made me think about the potters here close by who cheat and make gorgeous pots in doing so.
If you have not taken the time to look at some of the blogs I follow please do.
I am enjoying following Alex Matisse's blog.
He talks so eloquently about his journey into the world of pottery making. He is posting up some really great pots and just spent time at a work shop with fellow Seagrove potter David Stuempfle, who is an ultimate cheater!
Alex posted some great pictures of the students learning a technique David learned while was studying in Korean and Japan.
Mark Hewitt, another of the great cheaters, has put out some fantastic potters. He brought his techniques he learned with him when he settled in North Carolina. He has trained some of the best and does it with all the grace and charm that is Mark. Sharing and teaching, giving back.
Many years back when my Mark and I were interested in learning to make pots we spent time just going to the local shops like Seagrove Pottery, J.B.Cole's, Jugtown and ML Owens.
They were kind enough to let us stand there and watch.
We would watch Dot Auman throw pot after pot.
Virginia Shelton at Cole's would throw dinner plates and then pick them up and throw another-- no bats here!
Melvin Owens was always a treat, full of stories along with the pots.
And we wandered in and out of Jugtown.
No one chased you away and they were all so giving of their time.
Of course if you were smart you just found a quiet corner and watched.
There are a lot of potters I know who have opened their studios, their lives and themselves to teach others. It takes time and effort to do this. I think you have to have a good balance in your own life to open your life up to others.
On another note there is a great discussion going on over on Ron's blog. Ron is another cheater, teacher and one who gives thought and caring back into the clay community. I have enjoyed peeking into the lives of so many potters this past year. Ron is one who draws me back time and time again.
And here is my delight this summer.
I have not had a garden in many years and I just picked eggplant and my first tomato!
6 comments:
the "cheating" vase came out nicely... your eggplant look yummy too.
Meredith, I love eggplant and am hoping that you will have some eggplant recipes to share over on your cooking blog. Thanks for the recommendations of other potter's blogs. I checked a couple out and found some new folks to add to my daily reading list. :) Julia
The cheating pot came out so beautiful and your Japanese (looks like it anyway) eggplant is looking great. Eggplant Parmesean is one of my favorite eggplant dishes. I'll have to check out the blogs you listed many of them are on my list, but some not. Thanks.
The pot is lovely. It looks like we're growing the same eggplant, but you're ahead of us. Ours is only an inch or two long today, but our first tomatoes are turning red. Soon! You & Mark are creating beautiful pots & vegi's!
We ate the eggplant last night- roasted in the oven with onions, garlic, squash and tomatoes- fresh herbs........ it was tasty and oh so good!
A very elegant vase and the patterns are gorgeous - wonderful in close-up. What a steady and deliberate hand!
I enjoyed reading Alex's story, too.
Ah, eggplant - hanging so perfectly curved from the stem. Such a versatile veg. I used to try growing them despite our often foggy summers, by constructing small greenhouses around each plant to help them get the heat they need. They never set fruit, but often they would get flowers, which made it almost worth all the work.
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