Talking to myself




I knew there was a dichotomy between my cup and Basil the Jiggerman’s. Maureen your comment was the perfect segue into this post and thank you for it. In over 7 years of writing this blog I have never had 7 comments on a post.  That shows the differing opinions. Many days I feel like I am talking to myself.
 People that make solely for the marketplace think that the market they have created in their own minds is the only one that exists. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Look at the cups on my kitchen shelf. This is a small selection of probably 100 cups of “other” potters. There is e-ware, wood fire, salt, reduction, oxidation. smooth, rough, small, big, the entire gammit.  I think there is a market out there for all kinds of potters and lots of different aesthetics.  I was taught to look longest at what you don’t like because it is from this work you will learn the most.
FYI Basil’s cup is my favourite travelling cup. You’re right I don’t have to look at it.
Here is my favourite cup by Mark Pharis that I have used every morning for 35 years. It has a rough lip and foot, the handle is too close to the body and the colour is just about as much colour as I can handle in the morning. I love this cup and have learned how to hold it.  I look at it every morning! The yellow one he made recently - perfect rim and lovely one finger handle. I have never used it- not once!

Comments

John Bauman said…
I'm reminded of Psychology class where we were taught that we aren't who we think we are, and we're not who others think we are, but we become a combination of who we are, who others think we are, and the new place those combined perceptions lead us.

'Swhy identical twins end up being very different people.

Ditto pots. I put 'em out there informed by my aspirations and limitations and then I learn about them all over again when folks see 'em and tell me what they think I meant by what I said.

Serendipity might expose me to a group that might lead me in a different direction than one I might have taken if a different group saw 'em first.

Sometimes I said some things way eruditer than I though capable of. Other times my dumber-than-shit side came out unbidden.
Barbara Rogers said…
Can't beat what John said...so eruditely too!
Sheri Bare said…
Please keep talking to yourself....I love hearing it daily. You are an inspiration! Thank you.
Unknown said…
A potter who makes pots for "the marketplace created in their own mind" is engaged in a fantasy. A marketplace can only exist when a monetary transaction occurs between the potter and the customer. It requires that two people like the pot;the maker and the buyer. The most important person in the transaction is the potter who must be satisfied that they have produced the best possible piece for their current skill level. Our first rule was "would we consider buying it ourselves", if the pot didn't pass that test we scraped it and tried something else.
If making pots "for the mass market" means listening to the customer then we were guilty of that. Sometimes the customer's feedback was incorporated and sometimes not-see rule #1.
These basic rules apply whether your customer base is 20 or 220. Without the personal integrity of the potter the work cannot stand on its own.
All this being taken into consideration the potter still needs the customer more than the customer needs the potter.
Annied01 said…
I'm definitely envious of the cup rack... It is a beautiful way to display a collection... Mugs are still my favourite thing to collect from potters I meet and I am reminded of the mug/cup talk given by Pete Pinell in which he talks about a cup ... I see a cup as an intimate object... The feel of the rim against the lip, the handle you caress as You drink tea or coffee... Cups are about solace or comfort to me...

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