I had a birthday this week. Suffice it to say I've been making pottery for a looooong time. I believe there are still a few new wrinkles left in me, though ;)
How many years have I been attempting (between bowls, mugs, plates, and more), for example, Seder plates and Chanukah menorahs? Oh, since 1985 or so. And how many of those items have I made that worked out reasonably well? I could probably count 'em on two hands and two feet. Making the pieces that carry out the envisioned design has always been many miles of trial and error.
What's taken me so long? Hoo boy. Besides the time spent on those trials and errors, I like to say, "Life intervenes." Our children and extended family, time spent attempting to write, a break for a brief, unsatisfying (and poorly paid) job in retail, a side trek to learn some jewelry making, a year here and there when I lost the yen to work with clay, a late return to finally graduate college, and more cooking, laundry and dishes than I ever dreamed I'd have to do; that's what intervened.
And "that completion thing"..? Ah, yes, finishing anything that last 10%-15%... I have a global-type approach to life, not linear, and my distractibility...can you say "Oooh, shiny..." and dart sideways frequently? After all this time, I understand that's my wiring. I look to its benefits, and I work with it.
All my life I have loved observing, drawing. playing in the mud, examining textures, exploring colors, and mulling things over. And all those side trips have taught me many things that I cherish and which nurture me as a person and as an artist. I am imagining and thinking about things much of the day.
Am I living richly from the proceeds of my pottery? I don't know any potters personally who are, though I think there must be a few somewhere (maybe Japan, where potters of note can become "Living National Treasures"). In fact, most potters of the dozens whom I know have other jobs so they can pay all the bills, or have spouses through whom they have supplemental income and medical insurance. But we still do what we do, and never, ever think of it as a hobby. As one of my students said last week, "there's something about the clay..." Yes ma'am, it's habit forming, tactilely satisfying, and magnetically creative.
In the last year I've had an uptick in business, putting my work out for public consumption on a regular basis more than ever before. My Gallery Downstairs and website both turned one year old a short while ago. And with the help of a very organized consultant who CAN think in a linear fashion, plus my own dipping into online seminars, books, articles and videos, I'm finally learning some important things about the art of doing business. It's a very different art than I am used to.
It's also only in the last year I've been teaching regularly in my studio. I balance space and time for my own ongoing work and the work of my students so we can share the same studio. I balance my work time and theirs, and try to keep my non-teaching schedule productive and on point. Often I work into the evening, knowing that three hours will be knocked out of my next workday because I will be prepping the studio, teaching, and cleaning up after the students leave. But I confess, it has added a dimension to my workspace and my plans that I am enjoying very much. I wanted the challenge. I wanted people around who are drawn to clay, as I am.
A year older I may be, but what a year it was! More of the same would be delightful.