Potters conference and blogsters

I had a great time at the Potters Conference. Here are a few photos of work in progress. Each person had such a different way of working and it was thought provoking listening to them. In the end I always find that I have to compare everything with the way that I work and my own dreams and goals as a potter, then incorporate what works or find the viewpoint shift to move into a new level for myself.

The first piece is a house pot by Mary Law, from California. I enjoy the reference to architecture in her work and she is a no nonsense gal to listen to. She says that her students refer to her as the "school marm", which I took to mean that she demands their best, no excuses, and she pushs them to make good pots.

The second is by Jane Hamlyn, from Great Britain. I first discovered her work about 5 years ago and looking at the way she paid attention to the details, such as textured handles and feet, caused me to look at my own work and focus on the smaller, finer areas in my handles. It was "jolly good fun" to hear her. I learned these British slangs:

"He's not got the bottle to do it", which means not have the courage. When we queried how that came to be, Robin Best, (try www.ceramicart.com.au/articles/CAP61.htm for the link, as I could not seem to get it to work from here) from Australia, interpreted it as having to resort to the bottle or drinking in order to gather your nerve or courage. I did not get any images of Robin's work, which was very intriquite and laborious in creation.

My favorite was "And I said, 'Blow this game of toy soldiers!' " which I took to mean "I'm so done with this" or whatever stronger version you might use, depending on the circumstances.

Anyway, home with lots of ideas and a lot of work to finish, hence the reason for not posting.

I talked to a couple of people who said they found me or looked at my blog and that was nice. I do a lot of talking out loud to myself at the studio, so it was good to hear that this is not just more of the same all the time.