Becoming No One

It not what you look at, it's what you see. Henry David Thoreau. Most people look but don't see. I've been one of those people at times. I walk by what is not familiar and gravitate towards what I think I like. I found this t-pot on a dusty shelf at Pinecroft. I brought it home and put it through the dishwasher. It is probably 5 years old and never sold. I don't know why really because I really like it. I've always said that if I glaze a pot in a high iron glaze (temmoku for you potters) go stand in the middle of the road and flag someone down and offer them the pot they will give me the bird, squeal their tires off into the sunset. So if that is the case then don't make those pots. Make the ones people will really gravitate towards. In becoming everyone and making pots for everyone, you will become no one. Do you really want your pottery to be simply there to please others or is it an expression of who you are? Does the work excite you or do you feel nothing? When unloading a kiln do you pick up 4 cups at a time or do you take each one and give it a look? My pots are often directed by a bank balance. When it's in the black the pots are better. When it gets close to red I start to make for everyone. Then I go to bed and wake up in the middle of the night go to the studio and muck them up. It's worked for several decades so why join the status quo now? When you make with your heart not everyone notices. Sometimes it takes longer but they will come to realize the heart of the maker is alive in this work. A labourer works with his hands. A craftsman works with his head and his hands. An artist works with his hands, head and heart. Have a BIG heart!