The Body of my Work

One thing I want to say today, is that the meeting of the Western North Carolina Clay Club is coming to our Black Mountain studio tonight...and I do look forward to seeing who from Yancy and Mitchell counties will come check out our small teaching studio.  The students/teachers/community members and local Clay Clubbers are definitely going to be there, so it should be a great party.  We needed an excuse for a party.

Sue Monk Kidd said in her own reading on CD of her book "Travelling with Pomegranates", that her daughter was trying to follow a dictum from a writing book...to "serve the work itself, rather than the ego."  Sue said she had already done this for 20 years.
"All works of creativity are done in my name, as well as all expressions of love," the goddess may say.  Sue Kidd moves in the direction of considering the Dark Mary as a mother goddess, but leaves it as speculation.



 

For me as artist, I'd never considered all my pottery (or other artistic endeavors) as a body of work.  There are pots I made back in 81-83 while studying ceramics at U of F in Gainesville, and they are mainly kept because of usefulness, being lidded jar shapes.  I think I've kept one plate from that time as well.  Out of 2-1/2 years of ceramics study...well, they did require art history classes, and print making and photography.  I was glad to get that BFA, but wish I could have concentrated more on pottery.  I've also got the one carved plate from 77 or so. 

Anyway, I've used my own values to drive my creations.  Sometimes more for the sense of art itself, sometimes for the sense of making something to sell to another person.  Those values are both important to me.  Now I will look through some of my files of photos of my work, and see if it tells me something about itself...apart from those 2 minimal concepts.

Of course when I came up with my Artist Statement, I must have looked inside to understand what makes me create.  But for the life of me, looking at old works is a strange endeavor!  There are emotions coming up!