18. December 2008 by admin.

Well, going to be heading away for a week, not that anyone would notice from the activity here.  Did a nice little show in Ithaca, NY last weekend, artist generated and run, and stayed with the lovely Julie Crosby and her family, then promptly came home and got sick.  Seems to happen a lot after the last activity of the season.  Anyway, I’m medicated and ready to drive back to Ohio to visit family and friends.  See you in a week!

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | 3 Comments »

3. December 2008 by admin.

OK now!  Just home after firing the last of three kilnloads of pots for the studio sale this weekend.  Kinda sweaty, kinda stinky, so tired I feel like I might just get sick on the spot.  Anyone else out there feel that way after a long kiln grind?  With no more pots to glaze, while the kiln was firing I spent time cleaning the studio and organizing it so that people can come and go and perhaps actually believe that it’s a clean and organized place most of the time.  It’s interesting how much dust and dirt can get into the unlikeliest places.  Carolyn mopped yesterday, and we generally mop a couple of times per week, but after shifting things around and moving stuff to the loading dock overnight, there was so much dust and debris around that I’ll have to mop again after I unload the kiln tomorrow.  But, the place is starting to look good.  We did a group clean and set up of the showroom, which will survive past the show.  Now each of us has a dedicated section, so that the public won’t have to ask whose work is whose anymore (great idea Shelly), plus we have an integrated section where everyone’s work is put together to create a wondrous whole.

The studio sale is the culmination of my year, and has been since about 1978.  Mike Frasca started the tradition and I got invited in when I went to work in the space on Spring Street.  We always thought of it as more than a selling opportunity.  It was a time to mix with our customers/friends, and let them know how much we appreciated their support.  When you think about it, each of us has dangerously few customers who support our efforts, and I’ve tried never to forget that fact and to make them understand the debt of gratitude I owe them for allowing me to pursue my dream job.  So, we always used to cook and bake for them, and tended to make our prices just a little bit lower so as to give a sense of giving back.

We’ve been laying in a stock of food and drink for the party over the past week.  I have a sense that in these tough economic times, it’s more important than ever to, well, party, and give a good spread for those who care enough to show up and buy.  So this one is going to be a good one!  I moved the extra fridge up from the storage room in the basement last night, and now both are packed with good things.  Tomorrow I’ll be making the big batch of cauliflower soup, and getting all the last of the provisions.  I hope folks show up to help us get rid of it all.

I received a message on my cell yesterday from a woman who works at the Art Museum in Rochester.  She wants me to come in and give a lecture in February with another artist with whom I had a gallery show this past year.  My initial reaction was one of fear and trepidation, but then I began to compose imaginary “lectures” in my head throughout the night, and actually began to get excited about what I might have to offer.  Of course, this would not be a lecture that any art critic or high-minded patron would look at in a favorable light, but rather one which placed what I do, functional pottery, in the context of living a humane life.  I began to think about what all of the choices I have made in my career have meant in terms of a human existance, instead of in terms of color theory or negative space.  How making small, intimate things instead of large, grandiose statements on the human condition could in fact be as valid a path to take as any other.  And on and on and on…  see what happens when one is short on sleep?

Anyway, we’ll see where it all goes.  When all is said and done, my real work happens in the studio, and not at the podium.

It’ll be a few days before the next posting, as I’ll be doing more cooking.

Later,

Richard

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | 1 Comment »