Comments on: The First Assignment

By: Colleen

Colleen — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:03:40 +0000

I am definitely attracted to the square pot…2nd from right in the back row. It looks like a pocket open and ready to catch something. It is interesting the way it appears to be pinned together at the corners! I would love to see it after it is glazed.

By: Walter

Walter — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:14:31 +0000

What great feedback you are getting, everyone is so perceptive. I like all of your pots!

Often in critiques I ask my students to pick out what is their best piece, their favorite piece, and their worst piece. I would have to hold and examine each piece before I could determine which I thought fitted these categories.

Like the others thanks for sharing. I will look forward to seeing them glazed. Remember to expect the unexpected with a free and open mind.

Bless You!

By: Melynn

Melynn — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 14:48:08 +0000

Hi Frank, the first pot I made was the middle one in the back row, then the one to the left of that, based on the same idea but a little less careful. After that, I made the bigger version on the far right, but lost some of the spontaneity you spoke of. My teacher pointed out that if I had varied the size of the “flutes” on the rim, it would have felt less contrived. As far as what was preferred by the class, it wasn’t necessarily a spoken distinction. There just wasn’t much to discuss about the front row – some weren’t even mentioned. The back row received a lot more enthusiasm with the middle pot standing out as the winner in that regard, with some suggestions for the next version. There are a couple of other pots not pictured here that were also deemed a favorite – a combination of smooth craftsmanship with rims that were rolled and pinched sporadically in a few places. All of these pots went into the studio’s gas kiln last Friday. I’m not familiar with their glazes and I rarely get to have my work gas-fired (I have an electric kiln), so I’ll be very curious to see how they turn out. I’ll post a few close ups when the time comes.

By: Frank DeMarco

Frank DeMarco — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 13:43:17 +0000

Melynn, I copied your photo and blew it way up to look at it more closely (which of course made the image fuzzy). Just out of curiosity, which of the pieces in the back row were people’s clear-cut favorites, if there WERE any clear-cut favorites? I find myself drawn first to the one that is second from the right, then to the ones to the left of that, in that order. For some reason the rightmost one doesn’t particularly appeal to me: Was this the last of the get-this-out-of-the-way-so-I-can-throw-some-REAL-pots? The body of the pot is your usual smooth craftsmanship but the top looks like an effort to be “spontaneous” whereas the others in the back row seem more integral.

So — were any of the pots preferred by most?

By: Close encounters « kt

Close encounters « kt — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 10:42:20 +0000

[...] what it is. Let me start over…I have been really inspired by my blog friends sperlygirl and breatheasy and how they are exploring listening to themselves and taking more chances with their art. I have [...]

By: sperlygirl

sperlygirl — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 21:50:27 +0000

thanks melynn — i look forward to seeing more of your stunning work.

By: Colleen

Colleen — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:56:34 +0000

“When the personality of an artist is absorbed in her art, it becomes art itself.” – Hazrat Inyat Khan

By: Melynn

Melynn — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:45:13 +0000

Hi Suz, I love that painting, especially the background where you’ve collaged musical notes, handwriting and embossed paper of some kind that is also part of the girl’s dress. Beautiful!

By: sperlygirl

sperlygirl — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:34:49 +0000

melynn, i completely understand your comment and where you’re coming from. i just finished and posted a painting and although happy with it initially, my next immediate thought was how rigid it felt (and seemed) and how i wished i could just loosen up my style. a loose free style like the artworks i always seem to linger over from others. maybe it brings me back to the meme game…breath in, breath out, let go.

By: Melynn

Melynn — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:58:32 +0000

Hi bookbabie, yes, what you say makes a lot of sense. I agree with both you and Frank. It’s important to spread one’s creative wings in the case that something new might be discovered. It is also important to find one’s own unique voice without being influenced by what others think or view as the right way versus the wrong way. However, I have taken so few ceramic classes, that I am willing to try anything at this point. Besides, I’ve been in sort of a vacuum the past couple of years working alone here in my studio. Just being in the classroom and seeing all kinds of directions being explored – not only by my class, but by everyone else that is connected to the studio – has been an eye-opening experience. Luckily, my teacher is quite lovely and one of the most enthusiastic people I’ve ever met (I’m not sure I could have handled a teacher like the one you spoke of, bookbabie). She sees beauty in everyone’s work, no matter what stage the person is at. She’s pushing us hard in a certain direction, but she’s doing it in a way that is inspiring, not stifling. After all, the class is about creating unique vessels, not production pottery which is what I do for the most part. I am encouraged to follow her direction first and foremost for the fun of it – but also for the mystery. Who knows where I’ll land at the end of the semester, but I imagine my work will be a little different going forward, even if it is only me that notices the shift.