Hand built relief printed white stoneware boxes fresh from the bisque kiln.
I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been very productive lately when it comes to making any new work. I am not sure if it’s the awful news of late and all of the political campaign noise that’s distracting me or if it is the result of my mom duties or that I have been questioning whether or not I should even make pottery. To relate it in pottery terms, I feel like I have been looking for answers in a murky throwing bucket before the clay slurry has had a chance to settle to the bottom leaving clear water on top. Maybe my inattentiveness and reluctance to enter my studio is a combination of all of the above. It’s not like I haven’t been thinking about clay either – it’s something more.
At this point, you’re probably thinking, “Oh for Carpe Diem‘s sake, Cynthia, stop over analyzing everything! Just do it already and start making work and posting pretty pictures again.” I’ve decided to edit the political, financial, religious and mom stuff out of my original post and am going to cut to the chase today.
Here is part of what it comes down to: I’ve been a little hung up on making things to sell to other people when I’ve been trying to live a simpler less consumer driven life.
The philosophy of “living simply“ has ties to Transcendentalism, Epicureanism, Conservation, Social Justice, Sustainable Development, Ascenticsm, Taoism, Buddhism, and even Anarchism. According to social scientist and author of Voluntary Simplicity, Duane Elgin describes voluntary simplicity “as a manner of living that is outwardly more simple and inwardly more rich, a way of being in which our most authentic and alive self is brought into direct and conscious contact with living.”
By now, you’re either fully tuned out, or you’re saying, “Get to the point, sister!”
In the past few months, I’ve considered selling all my equipment and doing something else – something more service oriented. In the past few days, however, I’ve come to the conclusion that potters are part of an ancient tradition of making functional and decorative hand crafted work and are passing their knowledge to future artists. A hand made mug does cost quite a bit more than a cheap mass produced one from China sold at big box stores, but that purchase is also supporting a lifestyle that very well could become extinct. Now more than ever before, the arts are a necessary component of a healthy and balanced society. In a way, people like me as well as everyone listed in my blogroll on the right hand side bar, along with artisans around the world are sustaining an important tradition. In essence, the act of making and purchasing hand crafted items is a conscious choice that fits well into the philosophy of living a simpler life.
One of the fathers of the movement, Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden while living in a simple cabin outside town as an experiment to live close to nature with minimal personal stuff in the 1800’s. While I know life is more complicated than it was in the 19th C, and can’t really be compared or viewed in utopian or romantic terms, a place like Walden Pond sure sounds pretty enticing right now. Maybe my husband and daughter will be up for Thoreauesque experiment in the near future.
Either way, I feel like the clay slurry has settled and after letting my neuroses ferment for awhile, I realize that I am in the right place right now. I haven’t been taking advantage of the 6 uninterrupted hours I have available 5 days a week, to make work while my daughter is in school. All I lack right now is a little bit of discipline and the research stage has gone on long enough – time to start working in the studio.
Meanwhile, I took a close look at the work that I bisque fired the other day and am happy with the relief printed boxes and mugs. The work didn’t warp or crack and the design is crisp.
That’s it for today,
~Cynthia
Cynthia – sometimes over the years when my son started back to school I absolutely couldn’t get started either. I relate it to the ‘blank canvas’ syndrome. I had dreamed of uninterrupted hours in my studio – but when I finally got them — I couldn’t work! I found every ‘busy’ excuse possible not to make work. I guess in my mind I thought ‘if I just had time, I could make good work.’ That the obstacle to my ‘greatness’ (lol) was time. Boy that pressure was just too much. The only way I could overcome it was to just go in my studio – clean, make work from lists, anything that would take the pressure off. And the actual process of doing would finally get me going again.
I too am trying to live a slow/simple life & question the need for my pots in the world! And I’ve come to the same basic conclusion you have. One step I did make to help is I’ve quit buying paper plates — and use only ceramic! That helps ease my guilt a little bit.
I’m glad you didn’t conclude that pottery has to go. Many of those who value simplicity also deeply value balance. That said, you might find some insight in reading the Rule of St. Benedict. I believe it’s under a hundred pages, and it’s surprisingly practical. If you enjoyed Walden, I would suggest Annie Dillard’s “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.” And Kathleen Norris, “The Cloister Walk” or “Dakota”… check out the excerpts on Amazon. This isn’t to say, here, live like these people. I think it may put you in touch with people who understand balance and simplicity in slightly surprising ways. I hope that’s of some help, and not entirely off on the wrong page.
Have you heard of Potters for Peace cyn?
http://www.pottersforpeace.org/
SOmetimes I think we get lost in the business of art, and creating to sell that we forget the root of why we create and the beauty of it, and what it means in the grand scheme of things. A thoughtful post Cyn and it brings up questions many of us have faced and continue to struggle with.
Hi Cynthia,
I related very strongly to this post and am also searching for an answer that doesn’t feel like a rationalization. What I’ve come back to recently is very personal. That feeling of holding/seeing/appreciating something made by hand is the same feeling I have when being in nature. It feels healing, nurturing, necessary. I try to live consciously and hold on to the idea that our actions and efforts make a difference. I will look for the books recommended by blogger Julie, above. Thanks Cynthia!
There is living simply, and there is living starkly. A life where artistic expression would be given up because it is too “complex” is not a life worth pursuing, in my mind.
Hey cynthia, I love self answering posts… I find in my other job the one that pays the bills – I do a little volunteer work for a worthy cause it seems to change my perspective on life and then i can get back to my stuff reinspired…
Hi Cynthia.. However trying making pots can be at times, I think it is a simpler life (not to mention more intrinsically satisfying). We’ve both left corporate jobs to pursue clay. Its hard not to get caught up with “catering to the market” (I mean you are running a business and selling is one of the objectives), but a good friend of mine told me years ago to keep it simple and make pots that you like and the sales will follow. I think there is a lot of credence in that.
Cheers! Anne
hi cynthia, you know the cups that you have in your header do you have any closer shots of those?? loveem just curious ta ang
Judy – I totally relate to what you wrote about time being both the panacea and the obstacle to making work. I started to beat myself up about wasting 5 days last week, but stopped short. I am making a list for myself today – start with the easy, no brainer stuff that I need to accomplish first before trying to be “creative”. I don’t have a blank slate per se, rather – it’s so full, that I’m having a hard time editing and prioritizing.
Julie – Thanks so much for the book recommendations! I love to read, but don’t do so much of it anymore. I think you’re so right about finding balance and meaning.
Corrine – I’m so glad you added the link to Potters for Peace. I have heard of the organization, but have never followed up. I book marked the site and will take another look when I have a little more time. The business end of art does clash with the creative side of it.
Patricia – I knew that I can’t be the only one out there feeling like this. I also don’t have eco-neurosis either – just a true desire to make my life a little more meaningful.
Dan – so true! I actually edited out part of my post where I wrote that living more simply doesn’t mean forced poverty or monk like asceticism. While some people certainly take that route, I’m aiming for living more deliberately while still enjoying life’s pleasures and my own creative pursuits. I think it translates into so many other parts of our lives outside of art.
Thanks for the comments, Ang. As to the hand built cups – are you referring to the ginkgo tumblers or mugs because my header rotates randomly now?
Amen Anne! I’m just now coming to that same conclusion.
Hi Cynthia! Thank you ( and everyone who commented!) for sharing your quandaries, thoughts, and conclusions. I think all of us who think about who we are and who we wish to become go through such times of self-evaluation and questioning. I’m not sure if such self-questioning is a result of “artist’s block” or the other way around, but I do know for myself even just sitting quietly in my studio for a while, letting myself relax and just *be*, often loosens the tensions.
It’s funny I have been thinking along some of the same lines over the summer, wanting to downsize and thinking about the future, and especially pondering much this past long weekend, and I came home to your post. I’ve been decluttering possessions and trying to live more simply for quite some time. Deciding what is needed, what is important, what is necessary, and what is not. I haven’t been questioning the clay, but other things. I’ve been able to focus on my ceramics, but everything else seems hard to concentrate on. I keep thinking what is wrong with me, why am I procrastinating on this or that, I just can’t seem to get motivated except with clay. In order to have time to work in clay, I am finding I need to streamline the rest of my life, which I am slowly plodding through.
I really enjoyed reading this thought provoking post Cynthia, and all the comments that have followed. I agree with so many points made – in my mind supporting yourself through art is a more simple way of life than working for a big company, and those buying hand made rather than mass produced stuff are also supporting a simpler way of life. Gaining satisfaction through being creative and productive is a basic human need I believe, and yes, it is vital that you pass on the knowledge and skills you possess in a world where basic and simple human needs are ignored in favour of mass production and big money. Ahhh, for the simple life. Shouldn’t we all be making our own pots and trading them for vegetables to those who prefer gardening?
hi cynthia, I was refering to the 4 cups on the tray they look like they have pointed ‘feet’ and have textured surface …
Beth – thanks so much for your comments! I spent about 5-6 hours in my studio and decided to make a list and tackle one thing at a time and it seemed to work. By 6:30pm, I had to force myself to go back inside the house and start dinner, otherwise I would have been feeding my family at midnight.
I’m substitute teaching today, so no studio time today, but am looking forward to tomorrow.
Linda – I know what you mean about decluttering and how it affects other parts of our lives. I cleaned my kitchen and my daughter and I cleaned her room top to bottom on Sunday, and while other people routinely do this – it’s not my strong suit. I was reminded of a feng shui lecture I listened to last year. The speaker basically said that needless stuff clutters our surroundings and blocks energy flow. Think what you will about feng shui, but I felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted after I finished. Anything that could be recycled was, and yesterday, my daughter and I took a trip to the ARC (thrift store) and donated several items – most of it her clothing, a lot of it barely used and some even with the tags still intact.
Linda-U The notion of trading goods and services is very interesting to me! I should see if there is a local group that does that. I’m pretty sure there’s one in Boulder.
Ang – Those cups are handbuilt from slabs that I’ve printed with a lino-cut. I’ll see if I have some more photos and email them to you. I basically printed them and then cut darts out and joined. The pointed feet are the result of cutting out the darts.
Thanks for the post Cynthia. It did resonate with me in many different ways. I tried to leave a comment the other day but found your site wasn’t working. After having read all the comments so far I have to say I agree wholeheartedly with Dan. I couldn’t have said it any better so I won’t even try.
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Glad you have decided not to give up pottery making. One point you made about passing the knowledge hit home in a big way. I was watching a show on Jack Taylor last night. In case you don’t know who he is, Jack is a man that has a shop in Beverly Hills that makes custom men’s suits. You might ask – what on earth does that have to do with pottery making?!! Well, he is 90 and believes tayloring is becoming a lost art because nobody want to learn. His fear is that the art of tayloring will disappear and young people don’t want to put in the work to learn the skill and artistry of making a custom suit. So your gift to the world of passing on your knowledge of pottery making is a wonderful goal! I am a quilt artist and try to educate whoever will listen about quilts.