Me and Bobby McFree

 It is my pleasure to turn over a page to my buddy Bobby Free. I am soooo pleased to see Bobby going for it as a potter in Montana. Me being the old bull and Bobby the young bull, it was a toss up to see which one of us was first at school to put the coffee on. We each knew we both needed our early brew and one would be there to have it brewing. Bobby could party all night and still be either #1 or #2 thru the studio door. I think we really cemented our relationship when he and Trevor carried me down  Yellow Mountain in China.  Bobby would eat the arse end of skunk if someone cooked it. He took great pride in eating dog, turtle, snake, and drinking pig's blood. He would eat anything that walked, crawled or flew except of course an airplane. Bobby being a self proclaimed ladies man he would put the hussle on any woman from 16-86. Here he is swooning the cook in China.

News from Bobby
Hello to all of Tony Clennell's devoted readers.  I’ve known Tony for
a about 3 or 4 years now and also had the pleasure of earning my
Undergrad degree while he got his Masters in Utah.  We fired kilns,
ate, drank and traveled through China together.  Tony taught me more
than I could ever ask or hope for.  He even convinced me to start a
blog.  Now that I’ve been blogging for about half a year I asked him
if I could be a guest writer…sort of spread the bfreepottery word.
Thanks a lot TC.
In this post I want to share a video I made and talk for a second
about how it came about.  First off you should know that I’m a maker.
I’m a potter.  I am completely dedicated to this way of living.  I eat
and breathe clay.  My name is Bobby.

In this post I want to share a video I made and talk for a second
about how it came about.  First off you should know that I’m a maker.
I’m a potter.  I am completely dedicated to this way of living.  I eat
and breathe clay.  My name is Bobby.



The act of making a pot doesn’t begin or end with your hands… that’s
too obvious.  Making is a continuous act of seeing. Making doesn’t
stop with seeing either.  Beyond seeing there is feeling.  Beyond
feeling is understanding.  Seeing, feeling and understanding can be
subconscious, yet they are skills that need to be developed.  How can
people develop intangible skills?  Do you know how to get to Carnegie
Hall?  Practice.  Practice.  Practice.  You must actively look at
things.  And I’m not saying you need to go to an exotic place with
palm trees, or water falls or inside the latest Ceramics Monthly to
see something that makes you feel.  Chances are it’s right in front of
you.  When you’re on a hike and you look up at the most beautiful blue
sky and exclaim, “Oh what a perfect blue sky!”  Underfoot there is a
tiny blue wild flower or a grouping of rocks.



I wanted this video to be a step by step process of a new vase form
I’ve made.  While I was editing some very boring shots of myself I
noticed that the trimming section had the best light.  It had such an
amazing mood.  It felt the way I did.  I was tired and a little
lonely.  I had a kiln scheduled in a few days, so 5 am was my time to
work.  It was still dark outside and I was alone in the studio,
working quietly.  Afterwards, during the editing, I began to think
about what I was looking at. By using some different filters I started
to actively see and search for texture, line, weight, volume and over
all composition.  Like a flash I knew that the video wasn’t about me,
but what was happening around me.  It was like an invisible door
suddenly opened in front of me.  The only way to go was through it.
Instead of a “how to” video it had morphed into my own game of seeing
and into the process of understanding the way I was feeling.  Now I
get to play the roll of director, actor, composer, musician, and
potter.  This is my expression of that morning.