As a self proclaimed claysmith, I act as a midwife in the birthing of all things CLAY - beads, cups, pots, trays and rattles - which speak not only of the maker but the user and the society where the art of clay is permitted to flourish.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Slow Time
WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF SLOW TIME!
I was introduced to clay in early 1991 by having a chunk of it placed in front of me and being told to ‘make something’ in a period of 20 minutes. I still remember the feeling of cold wetness as my hands plunged into it….how it responded….how intuitively I knew this was the beginning of my new life with clay.
Finding a local Art Center to learn about clay was my next challenge. Once that was accomplished, I became the challenge. I’d arrive at my morning classes in FAST TIME, my design business attached at the hip, nudging me about commitments to everything but clay. Back then I flourished in the avant-garde world of FAST TIME unaware of the fascinations I was missing by not stopping to smell the proverbial roses, hug a tree or ask, “What color is the wind?” FAST TIME is a one-track dimension which flies through the crossings and doesn’t make stops in the mellow clay world of Kansas! But because of this, I understand why, after a 3-hour long weekly class, the clay hobbyist or novice only feels satisfied when lots of things get made. AND why, when it comes to finishing all those churned-out pieces, it’s impossible for them to return to the level of satisfaction they initially felt and glaze these pieces with realistic expectations. All this producing has occurred in the dimension of FAST TIME.
Art is a process of creating, not producing.
ART happens in SLOW TIME…THE PROCESS is the ART, not the product.
I was introduced to clay in early 1991 by having a chunk of it placed in front of me and being told to ‘make something’ in a period of 20 minutes. I still remember the feeling of cold wetness as my hands plunged into it….how it responded….how intuitively I knew this was the beginning of my new life with clay.
Finding a local Art Center to learn about clay was my next challenge. Once that was accomplished, I became the challenge. I’d arrive at my morning classes in FAST TIME, my design business attached at the hip, nudging me about commitments to everything but clay. Back then I flourished in the avant-garde world of FAST TIME unaware of the fascinations I was missing by not stopping to smell the proverbial roses, hug a tree or ask, “What color is the wind?” FAST TIME is a one-track dimension which flies through the crossings and doesn’t make stops in the mellow clay world of Kansas! But because of this, I understand why, after a 3-hour long weekly class, the clay hobbyist or novice only feels satisfied when lots of things get made. AND why, when it comes to finishing all those churned-out pieces, it’s impossible for them to return to the level of satisfaction they initially felt and glaze these pieces with realistic expectations. All this producing has occurred in the dimension of FAST TIME.
Art is a process of creating, not producing.
ART happens in SLOW TIME…THE PROCESS is the ART, not the product.
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