Which brings me to the title of my post. I subscribe to ceramic artist and gallery owner, Charlie Cumming’s newsletter. Yesterday’s letter included a link to a 30 minute video of Pete Pinnell discussing his thoughts on cups. I poured myself a glass of red wine into one of my ginkgo tumblers and sat down at my computer to watch. Initially, I thought, “I don’t have 30 minutes right now,” but I was seduced by what he had to say.
He talked about how most art is meant to be viewed at from a distance because we look with our eyes and need to digest what it is we see. However, with functional pottery the mere act of choosing an artist made cup and bringing it to one’s mouth is in a sense the most intimate act of all normally reserved for lovers. With that in mind, I picked up my cup and fondled it. No giggling please… I thought about how it felt in my hand - how much I was enjoying my cab. In fact, I thought about how much better the wine tasted in my tumbler than if I had grabbed a Target glass mindlessly out of the cupboard. It was a deliberate choice to have a certain experience.
After watching the video, I went back to my cupboard and picked up an anonymous mug from some discount store. Yes, it functions as designed, but it didn’t feel special. I walked out to my studio to look at the mugs that I had made for my SIL that are still in the drying process. I picked each one up to see how it felt in my hand and I wonder which one she will favor.
While these same thoughts were in my head all along - I had never verbalized them as eloquently as Pete did. I know I will think about these ideas when making new work and purchasing artist made pottery in the future.
~Cynthia
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