CAREER CHOICE #1: ZOOLOGY: PRIMATOLOGY AND ORNITHOLOGY

“ GUY”:  MALE GRASSLANDS GORILLA, 45 – 50 YEARS OF AGE AT DEATH. INCARCERATED AT THE REGENT’S PARK ZOO, LONDON’ WEIGHT 600 – 700 POUNDS. THIS IS THE TAXIDERMISTS’S VERSION OF A FORMIDABLE 

ANIMAL  WHO I SPENT MUCH TIME WITH IN MY TEENS. I FOUND THE WORLD OF NATURE, ANIMALS AND BIRDS TO BE INFINITELY PREFERABLE AND MORE INTERESTING TO BE AROUND THAN ANY OF THE KIDS I MET.

ZOOLOGY IS THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF ANIMALS. PRIMATOLOGY IS THE STUDY OT THE TAILLESS MEMBERS OF THE MONKEY FAMILY, KNOWN AS APES OR PRIMATES. THEY ARE THE ONES MOST LIKE HUMANS EXCEPT THAT THEY ARE ALL NORMALLY PEACE LOVING EXCEPT WHEN PROVOKED. THEY WILL FIGHT FIERCELY WHEN THEIR FAMILIES ARE UNDER THREAT.

THE PRIMATES.  THE GENUS IS MADE UP OF TWO SPECIES OF GORILLA – PLAINS OR GRASSLANDS, AND MOUNTAIN GORILLAS. THEY ARE FOUND IN AND AROUND THE COUNTRY OF RUANDA IN CENTRAL AFRICA.

 

MALE ORANG – UTAN – AKA OLD MAN OF THE WOODS.  NATIVE TO BORNEO, SUMATRA AND OTHER ISLANDS OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC

 

YOUNG CHIMPANZEE – NATIVE TO CENTRAL EQUATORIAL AFRICA.  GENERALLY THOUGHT TO BE THE MOST INTELLIGENT OF THE GENUS.

THE GIBBON IS THE SMALLEST, FASTEST AND MOST AGILE OF THE PRIMATE SPECIES. THEY COME FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE  EAST INDIES. THEY ARE ALL THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION DUE TO HUMAN PREDATION AND LOSS OF HABITAT, AS ARE MANY ANIMAL AND BIRDS WORLDWIDE. THEY ARE THE INNOCENT VICTIMS OF HUMAN GREED.

 

SINCE I WAS SPENDING MUCH TIME IN ZOOS, THEY TEMPORARY DISPLACED MY REGULAR MUSEUM GOING ACTIVITIES. MUCH AS I AM AGAINST INCARCERATING ANY WILD CREATURES, OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THEM ULTIMATELY BRINGS GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN KIND, PROBABLY THE SICKEST ANIMALS ON THE PLANET.

THE DIFFERENT DIVISIONS OF THE NATURAL WORLD CAN SHOW US MUCH OF VALUE

ORNITHOLOGY:  THE STUDY OF BIRDS.

I AM JUST GOING TO SHOW ONE BIRD, THE PEACOCK, CLOSEST LIVING CREATURE TO THE MYTHICAL PHOENIX OR FIREBIRD.

MY EARLY TEENS ALSO INCLUDED MUCH WORK IN THEATER WHERE I COULD HIDE BEHIND OTHER CHARACTERS IN A PLAY, AND SEA CADETS, WHERE I COULD PLAY MY BUGLE, TRUMPET AND TROMBONE IN THE MARCHING BAND. AT SIXTEEN I CAME TO THE END OF FORMAL HIGH SCHOOL.  MY PARENTS WENT TO SEE THE SCHOOL  PRINCIPAL TO FIND OUT WHAT I MIGHT BE USEFUL FOR.  THE PRINCIPAL REPLIED “NOT MUCH! HE IS A DREAMER BUT HAS A GOOD TALENT IN ART THAT SHOULD BE FOSTERED” AND SUGGESTED THAT MY NEXT DIRECTION WOULD BE TO ART SCHOOL.   I HAD A FRIEND WHO WAS A LITTLE OLDER AND STUDYING AT THE LOCAL ART SCHOOL.  HE HAD GLOWING REPORTS OF NAKED WOMEN ( THE LIFE DRAWING CLASS MODELS.)  AS A HEALTHY, TESTOSTERONE CHARGED YOUNG MALE, THIS SOUNDED TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, SO I STARTED AT CROYDON COLLEGE

 OF ART THAT FALL. IT WAS 1955 AND I WAS READY FOR THE WORLD.

ME AT SIXTEEN IN 1955.

THANKS TO JAMIE KOZLOWSKI FOR THE CRYSTALLINE GLAZE PAINTING IN YESTERDAY’S POST.

PUBERTY HERE WE COME! THE FLOWERING OF YOUTH!

I WAS SEVEN AT THE END OF THE WAR.  I HAD SEEN MORE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION BY THAT TENDER AGE THAN ANYONE SHOULD SEE IN A LIFETIME. BECAUSE OF CIRCUMSTANCES, THERE WERE NO OTHER KIDS AROUND. 

MY MOTHER RAN THE FAMILY BUSINESS AND HAD NOT MUCH TIME FOR ME. MOST OF MY BRINGING UP THROUGH THIS TIME WAS BY AN

ELDERLY SPINSTER AUNT WHO DIDN’T LIKE ME, AND I DIDN’T LIKE HER RIGHT BACK. THE BOMBING OF LONDON TOOK THE LIVES OF THIRTY-THREE THOUSAND WITH A HUGE NUMBER OF CASUALTIES ON TOP. I ONLY RECEIVED GASHES ON MY LEFT ARM AND LEFT THIGH FROM FLYING GLASS. SURROUNDED BY ONLY ADULTS, I BECAME A PRECOCIOUS MINIATURE ADULT AND STARTED MY FIRST BUSINESS AT AGE SEVEN. MY PARENTS REALIZED THAT I HAD MY STREET SMARTS AND NEVER PUT A DAMPER ON ANYTHING I HAD IN MIND.  THAT EARLY TRUST AND FREEDOM BUILT AN INNER STRENGTH INTO WHATEVER DIRECTION. IT WAS ALL TOTALLY POSITIVE.  HOW OFTEN DOES ONE SEE THE SPIRIT OF YOUNG LIFE BECOME GRADUALLY EXTINGUISHED BY NEGATIVE PARENTING.

1940   THE FAMILY. ME AT AROUND 12 MONTHS BEING HELD BY MY FATHER

AT EIGHT, I STARTED TO VISIT MUSEUMS, ALL WERE FREE, EASILY  ACCESSIBLE FROM MY HOME BY BUS AND OFFERED A WEALTH OF INTERESTING THINGS TO  LOOK AT, AND INTO. THE FIRST WAS THE HORNIMAN MUSEUM, PRIMARILY AN ETHNOGRAPHIC COLLECTION WHERE I FIRST BECAME AWARE OF THE DIVERSITY OF HUMAN CULTURES.  THE FIRST POTS I REMEMBER SEEING AND BEING STRUCK BY WERE THOSE FROM THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST. MY NEXT MUSEUM WAS THE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM THAT HAD ALL MANNER OF INTERESTING AND DISGUSTING THINGS THAT PEOPLE USED FOR KILLING EACH OTHER. A SECURITY GUARD THERE SUGGESTED THAT I VISIT THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT AND BRITISH MUSEUMS WHERE THERE WERE OLD THINGS FOR KILLING EACH OTHER AND THEY WERE VERY BEAUTIFUL. SO, OFF I WENT AND FOUND MAGNIFICENT SWORDS, ARMOUR, FIREARMS, KNIVES AND MILITARY HARDWARE FROM CULTURES WORLDWIDE.  AND THEN THERE WERE POTS IN THEIR THOUSANDS.  LONDON’S MAIN MUSEUM DISTRICT IS IN SOUTH KENSINGTON, THERE YOU WILL FIND MUSEUMS OF NATURAL HISTORY, DECORATIVE ARTS, GEOLOGY, SCIENCE, AND OTHERS, ALL WITHIN A COUPLE OF BLOCKS. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE PLAYGROUND FOR A CHILD 

WITH A RECEPTIVE MIND AND THE POSSIBLE DREAMS OF AN ARTIST.

ACOMA OLLA, 19^TH CENTURY

I HAD NO FRIENDS BECAUSE OF THE LONELINESS INFLICTED BY THE WAR PERIOD AND HAD LEARNED TO BECOME VERY SELF-SUFFICIENT AS A SURVIVOR OF INTENSE NEGATIVITY.  THERE WAS NOBODY TO DISTRACT ME FROM MY THIRST FOR LEARNING.

FROM THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM I LEARNED MUCH ABOUT ANIMALS, REPTILES AND BIRDS, BUT THEY WERE STUFFED TAXIDERMISTS RECREATIONS WITH NO VOICE. FINDING THE LONDON ZOO IN REGENT’S PARK  THERE I FOUND THEM IN FULL VIGOR, COMPLETE WITH VOICE AND PROFOUND PRESENCE.  THIS WAS MY KIND OF STUFF!!

 BY THE TIME I WAS 12, I HAD DECIDED THAT I WANTED TO GO INTO ZOOLOGY, EITHER AS A PRIMATOLOGIST OR ORNITHOLOGIST. I STARTED TO LEARN URDU AND SWAHILI, LANGUAGES FROM CENTRAL AFRICA, HOME TO MANY OF THE SPECIES THAT I WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN.

ME AT  12 YEARS OF AGE.

I REALLY DISLIKED MOST SPORTS, STILL DO!  I WAS A CHUBBY KID AND NOT PARTICULARLY FAST ON MY FEET. SO IN SOCCER THEY PUT ME BETWEEN THE GOAL POSTS AND KICKED THINGS AT ME.  IN CRICKET, THEY PUT ME BEHIND THE WICKET AND THREW NASTY, HARD LEATHER BALLS AT ME.

I REBELLED AT THIS STUFF AND HAVE DISLIKED ALL AGGRESSIVE TEAM SPORTS EVER SINCE.  I VIEW THEM AS MILITARY TRAINING EXERCISES, THE WAY THAT MANY CULTURES KEPT THEIR ARMIES FIT BY AGGRESSIVE TRAINING. TO ME, THIS IS WHERE  GLOBAL  OBSESSION WITH VIOLENCE AND HATE STARTS TO TAKE ROOT.

 

MAYAN VASE:  SOLDIERS OFF TO DO BATTLE ON THE BALL COURT.  PENALTY FOR LOSING THE GAME -  DEATH

 

HI THERE, WELCOME BACK TO MY NEWSPAPER BLOG. TODAY’S EDITION IS ABOUT THE SCIENCES OF GENEALOGY AND HERIDITY, THE STORY OF FAMILY LIFE AND USES MY EARLY LIFE FOR EXAMPLES.

I WAS BORN A TWIN  IN SOUTH LONDON, ENGLAND IN 1939, SIX MONTHS BEFORE THE START OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. WE WERE THE YOUNGEST IN A FAMILY OF FIVE BOYS AND TWO GIRLS.  MY TWIN SISTER’S NAME WAS AVRIL .  WE SPENT MANY HAPPY MONTHS TOGETHER IN MY MOTHER’S WOMB AS WE DEVELOPED FROM EGG AND SPERM THROUGH EMBRYO AND FOETUS, UNTIL WE WERE THRUST FROM THE WARM COCOON INTO THE COLD HARD REALITY OF THE REAL WORLD. UNFORTUNATELY, AVRIL DIED TEN DAYS LATER FROM SOME INTERNAL PROBLEM.  I BELIEVE SHE PASSED HER ENERGY ON TO ME. THIS WAS THE FIRST DEVASTATING LOSS IN MY LIFE AT THE TENDER AGE OF TEN DAYS. I THINK OF HER OFTEN.

FLOWERS FOR A DEAD PRINCESS.

THE DECLARATION OF WAR WITH GERMANY WAS MADE ON SEPTENBER 3^RD, 1939. AFTER GERMAN TROOPS ENTERED POLAND.  WITHIN FOUR DAYS OF THIS DECLARATION, THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT PUT INTO ACTION A PLAN TO SHIP ALL CHILDREN UNDER 16 YEARS  OF AGE TO BILLETING  FAMILIES ALL OVER ENGLAND AND TO COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES SUCH AS CANADA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. IT WAS KNOWN AS THE GREAT EVACUATION. 

LEAVING FOR WHO  KNOWS WHERE!

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

 

IMPROVED BALLISTICSS  GERMAN V2 ROCKET  READY TO COMMIT CARNAGE

IT WASN’T GREAT FOR A HUGE VOLUME OF THE PARTICIPANTS, MANY OF WHOM SUFFERED GREATLY FROM ALL MANNER OF EVIL FROM BEATING TO MOLESTATION AND MASSIVE SEXUAL AND PHYSICAL ABUSE.  THEY COULDN’T PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SUPPOSED TO BE PROTECTING THEM. MY TWO OLDEST BROTHERS WERE OVER THE AGE OF SIXTEEN, SO JOINED THE WORK FORCE. MY REMAINING SISTER AND TWO BROTHERS WERE SHIPPED OUT TO THREE DIFFERENT FAMILIES IN THREE DIFFERENT CITIES IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND.  IN FOUR DAYS, THREE AND A HALF MILLION KIDS WERE EVACUATED TO PLACES THAT WERE SUPPOSED BE OUT OF ENEMY BOMBING RANGE.  IN A VERY SHORT WHILE GERMAN BALLISTICS DEVELOPMENT MADE THEM ALL VULNERABLE.  I CONTRACTED CHICKEN POX THE DAY BEFORE AND WASN’T ALLOWED TO GO AND THE AUTHORITIES WOULDN’T ALLOW ME TO BE SENT ON LATER BECAUSE OF MY AGE. I DIDN’T SEE MY SIBLINGS FOR OVER TWO YEARS. I STAYED WITH MY MOTHER WHO WAS RUNNING THE FAMILY BUSINESS AS MY FATHER WAS AWAY AT THE WAR EFFORT.  I SPENT FIVE AND A HALF YEARS DODGING BOMBS ON A DAILY BASIS.  THIS MADE ME INTO THE ULTIMATE SURVIVOR, A GREAT THING FOR SOMEONE IN THE ART!  LONDON IS ALL BUILT ON A HUGE SEAM OF BLUE CLAY. WHEN THE BOMBS CAME DOWN THE CLAY CAME UP IN GREAT CRATERS – FREE ART MATERIALS FOR LIFE THANKS TO ADOLF HITLER!!

THREE YEARS OLD IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR JUST STARTING TO WORK WITH CLAY

AT THE AGE OF THREE, I STARTED MY 70 YEAR LIFE IN CLAY. MODELLING ANIMALS AND MAKING VASES THAT I USED TO FIRE IN MY MOTHER’S KITCHEN STOVE.  I HAD A NATURAL TALENT IN ART AND AN INQUISITIVE MIND., ALWAYS TRYING NEW THINGS.  I FOUND A COMMERCIAL PRODUCT CALLED BARBOLA PASTE, A  SELF-HARDENING MODELLING MATERIAL THAT I COULD USE FOR MAKING JEWELERY,  AT THE AGE OF SEVEN I STARTED MY FIRST BUSINESS, MAKING JEWELRY AND SELLING IT TO CLIENTS IN THE MANY HAIRDRESSERS STORES  OF THE NEIGHBOR HOOD.  I ALSO BECAME AN AVID CERAMIC RESEARCCHER TO FIND OUT WAT ELSE IS OUT THERE THAT I CAN USE.  I STILL DO IT.  MY MOST RECENT GREAT FIND HAS BEEN  WITH A NEW HIGH TECH PODUCT INITIALLY FOR THE NASA SPACE EXPLORATION AS WELL AS PERFORMING THE ROLE OF COMPUTER CARDS. THE MATERIAL IS A BEAUTIFUL THIN PORCELAIN-LIKE  PRODUCT WHICH WE CALL PORCELAIN CANVAS SUBSTRATE.  IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT IT, YOU CAN CLICK ON THE LINK   CERAMICARTCART.COM  . LAST JANUARY I WROTE AN ARTICLE  ABOUT USING IT FOR CERAMICS MONTHLY MAGAZINE WHICH IS ON THAT WEBSITE.

ROBIN AT SEVEN WITH BOBBY.  ARTIST, MISFIT AND BUSINESS BOY

BOBBY WAS  LATER POISONED BY THIEVES WHO BROKE INTO MY PARENTS’ GROCERY STORE.    MY SECOND IMMEASURABLE LOSS

HERE TWO IMAGES OF GLAZE PAINTINGS BY ME USING PORCELAIN CANVAS SUBSTRATES , AND A CRYSTAL PAINTING BY JAMIE

  

I’M TIRED NOW SO I HAVE TO GET SOME REST.

SEE YOU TOMORROW, WHEN I MOVE INTO THE MAGICAL AGE OF PUBERTY.

 

THE POWER OF POSITIVE THOUGHT AND ACTION.

MANY THANKS TO ALL MY READERS FOR THEIR RESPONSES TO MY LAST BLOG,  TEACHERS ALSO SUFFER FROM THE “LACK OF RESPONSE SYNDROME

THIS WEEK I BEGIN TO MAKE THESE POSTS INTO COLUMNS, USING THE NEWSPAPER ANALOGY, METAPHOR OR SYMBOL. TODAY AND TOMORROW ARE IN THE SIMPLE SCIENCE FOLDER

THIS MORNING I WAS OUT WALKING ON THE BEACH WITH MY DOG KEEDA. SHE IS A NINE-YEAR-OLD AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD CROSS. HER COLORATION IS BASICALLY BLACK AND WHITE BUT HAS ALL THE VARIATIONS OF AN 11POINT GREY SCALE, PART OF THE PAINTER’S TOOL AND KNOWLEDGE KIT. I WAS WEARING A NICE, BLACK, LEATHER JACKET WHICH A FAT, ART -APPRECIATING SEAGULL OBVIOUSLY THOUGHT WOULD BE A GREAT BACKGROUND FOR A GRAVITY-PROPELLED SPLAT OF WHITE, YELLOW AND GREEN EXCREMENT, A BIT LIKE A JACKSON POLLOCK TASCHIST PAINTING FROM THE EARLY 1950’S.

 

THANK GOD COWS DON’T FLY OR WE’D NEED A JACKET  THE SIZE OF AN OGRE,  OR GIANT OR CANVAS FROM ONE OF REMBRANDT’S LARGE BIBLICAL PAINTINGS TO CATCH THE FLYING DOLLOP OF COLORFUL POOP!!

 IN ENGLAND, TO BE HIT BY SUCH ART IS VIEWED AS A MAJOR COUP, A GOOD LUCK SYMBOL OF ALMOST BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS. (SOME THINGS ABOUT BRITS REMAIN IN THE REALM OF THE SUPERNATURAL, SOMETHING I EXPECT TO REPORT ON AT A LATER DATE.) THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF SIR ISAAC NEWTON’S TREATISE  ON GRAVITY

A FEW PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINED AT MY USE OF CAPITAL TYPE FACE.  I DO IT FOR MY OWN BENEFIT.

I'M TOLD THAT USING CAPITAL TYPE IS THE CYBER EQUIVALENT TO SHOUTING AT THE RECIPIENT.  NO, I'M NOT DOING CYBERSHOUTING. WHEN I TYPE, THE SLIGHT TREMORS OF MY AGING LEFT HAND BABY FINGER KEEPS SLIDING FROM THE "A" KEY ONTO THE "CAPS LOCK" KEY NEXT DOOR. THIS HAS GONE ON FOR AT LEAST A YEAR NOW. I KEPT RE-TYPING AND CORRECTING AND IT TOOK FOREVER TO WRITE ANYTHING. I’M A SLOW TYPIST AT BEST, USING ALL THE APPROPRIATE FINGERS FOR THE SECIFIED KEYS. THE “SAVE “ KEY IS RIGHT NEXT TO THE “KILL” KEY AND I HAVE SUFFERED MANY LOSSES OF INTERESTING TEXT BECAUSE OF THAT.  IF I CAN REVERSE THE EFFECT OF THE TREMORS SOMEHOW, I WILL HAVE MUCH MORE TIME TO WRITE, AND THE WRITING WILL BE BETTER.  THE POWER OF POSITIVE THOUGHT MAYBE A GOOD WAY TO DO THIS.  FUTURE KEYBOARD DESIGNERS AND MANUFACTURERS MIGHT BE COERCED INTO RE ASSIGNING THE NEGATIVE KEEY INSTRUCTIONS TO ANOTHER KEY, PERHAPS CLOSER TO THE “DELETE” KEY AND ALMOST AS FAR AS YOU CAN GET FROM THE “SAVE” KEY.

I HAVE NOW FOUND A COMPUTER APP THANKS TO MY KNOWLEDGABLE READERSHIP, THAT CHANGES FROM  UPPER CASE TO THE CORRECT MIX OF UPPER  AND LOWER CASE.  ALL I HAVE TO DO IS LEARN HOW TO USE IT. CAPITALS, BOLD AND UNDERLINE WILL BE RESERVED FOR SPECIAL CONTENT.  ALL I NEED NOW IS THE TIME TO FIND OUT HOW TO WORK IT!!

THE POWER OF NEGATIVE THOUGHT!

YES, THAT’S RIGHT – NEGATIVE THOUGHT IS A POWER ALMOST AS STRONG AS THE POWER OF THOUGHT, BUT USUALLY NOT QUITE.  POSITIVE GENERALLY HAS THE EDGE. IF YOU WANT YOUR LIFE TO IMPROVE, THINK POSITIVE AND SMILE!

 IF YOU WANT TO WALLOW IN MISERY AND SELF-LOATHING, THEN GRUNT AND GET DRUNK! IT’S YOUR CHOICE.

COLOR MY WORLD

                                    HI EVERYONE, HAPPY NEW WEEK!

I’M GOING TO START THIS WEEK WITH A NEW IDEA, A THOUGHT OF THE WEEK SPECIAL FROM BOTH MY AND OTHER PEOPLES’ EXPERIENCES.  THE FIRST IS ABOUT GIVING THANKS. THIS ISN’T A SERMON, JUST OBSERVATIONS.

WAY BACK IN THE MID 1970’S WHEN I STARTED TO WRITE ANYTHING, I WROTE A SERIES OF ARTICLES FOR THE BRITISH CERAMIC MAGAZINE “CERAMIC REVIEW”. THEY WERE IN RESPONSE TO ONE OF THEIR READERS QUESTIONS ABOUT SIMPLIFIED GLAZE AND COLOR DEVELOPMENT. THE ARTICLES CAME OUT IN A THREE MONTH SEQUENCE, APRIL, MAY AND JUNE  1976.. I WAS STUNNED AT THE DEAFENING SOUND OF SILENCE THAT FOLLOWED.  IN THE FOLLOWING FIVE YEARS I RECEIVED FIVE LETTERS AND ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER FOLLOW UP. NATURALLY, I THOUGHT IT WAS OBVIOUSLY A WASTE OF TIME AND ENERGY AND I COULD USE MY TIME MORE PROFITABLY ELSEWHERE. SO I QUIT WRITING SINCE IT APPEARED OBVIOUS TO ME THAT NOBODY WAS INTERESTED OR THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE RESPONSE THAN FIVE LETTERS IN FIVE YEARS. THE WORLD OF THE WRITER IS PROBABLY MORE ISOLATED THAN ANY OTHER AND FEEDBACK RESPONSE TO WHAT YOU WRITE IS CRUCIAL TO THE WRITER’S MINDSET.  HEARING NOTHING CAN BE DEVASTATING. THE WRITER ISN’T LOOKING FOR PATS ON THE BACK, JUST PROOF THAT HE OR SHE ISN’T THE ONLY PERSON LEFT IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD, OR THAT HE OR SHE IS TALKING TO A VOID..

                                                             COLORS FROM COPPER

                                         COLORS FROM NICKEL IN VARIOUS GLAZE BASES

IN 1981, I WAS INVITED TO DO A THREE-MONTH TOUR OF WORKSHOPS THROUGHOUT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.  PEOPLE KEPT COMING UP TO ME AND ASKING IF I WAS THE ROBIN HOPPER WHO WROTE THE GLAZE ARTICLES, AND WHY DID I STOP. I SAID ”BECAUSE I GOT ALMOST ZILCH RESPONSE FROM PEOPLE LIKE YOU!”

                                                   COLORS FROM CHROMIUM

WHEN I RETURNED HOME TO CANADA THERE WAS A HUGE PILE OF MAIL WAITING TO BE DEALT WITH. ONE OF THEM WAS FROM THE LATE TOM MARSH, OF U.LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, USA, A FINDER OF NEW AUTHORS FOR THE CHILTON BOOK COMPANY.  THEY WERE LOOKING FOR A GLAZE AND COLOR BOOK TO FOLLOW UP ON DANIEL RHODES’ “CLAY AND GLAZES FOR THE POTTER”  I SAID I MIGHT BE INTERESTED BUT DIDN’T THINK THERE WOULD BE MANY SALES, AND MY TIME WAS VALUABLE, CITING THE NEGATIVE RESPONSE TO THE ARTICLES IN CERAMIC REVIEW. TOM TOLD ME IN REPLY THAT HE KNEW OF PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD USING MY ARTICLES AS COURSE TEXTS IN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, AS WELL AS BY STUDIO ARTISTS.  I WAS LITERALLY DUMBSTRUCK AS I HAD NO IDEA OF THIS. AS FAR AS I WAS CONCERNED, THERE WERE ONLY FIVE INTREPID SOULS WHO HAD EVER READ THEM! SO I AGREED TO WRITE THE BOOK AND TITLED IT “THE CERAMIC SPECTRUM”. IT WAS PUBLISHED IN 1984 AND IS STILL GOING VERY STRONG NEARLY THIRTY YEARS LATER. THINK WHAT MORE I COULD HAVE WRITTEN IN THOSE INTERIM  YEARS. HALFWAY THROUGH WRITING “SPECTRUM” I STARTED THINKING OF ALL THE BOOKS I USED TO LOOK FOR THAT JUST WERE NOT THERE SO I WROTE “FUNCTIONAL POTTERY: POTS OF PURPOSE”.   HALFWAY THROUGH THAT I THOUGHT THERE

NEEDED TO BE AN IN-DEPTH BOOK ON THE CERAMIC SURFACE. IT BECAME “MAKING MARKS”.  BETWEEN THEM THEY DEALT  WITH ALMOST ALL ASPECTS OF A CERAMIC OBJECT. – FORM, SURFACE AND TECHNOLOGY – A CERAMIC TRILOGY.

SO THE MORAL OF THIS STORY IS: IF YOU READ SOMETHING, BE IT BLOG, BOOK OR ARTICLE, THAT CHANGES YOUR LIFE OR THOUGHT PATTERNS AND  IMPROVES YOUR UNDERSTANDING,  THEN JUST JOT DOWN A LITTLE NOTE AND SEND IT TO THE AUTHOR. THAT SINGLE POSITIVE ACT COULD ELEVATE THE WRITERS PSYCHE, MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD AND POSSIBLY BRING FORTH MORE.  NOW, IS THAT SO REVOLUTIONARY – SAYING THANKS OR GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE.  AT THE TIME WHEN I WAS GROWING UP SAYING “THANKS” WAS AN EXPECTATION. IN TODAYS “GIMME, GIMME”  SOCIETY IT APPEARS TO BE A DISTINCT RARITY. IN PSYCHOLOGICAL TERMS IT IS CALLED ”POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT”.

 

 

 COLORED CRYSTALLINE GLAZES – CONE 6 ELECTRIC  FIRING

 

THE GRINCH.

THE GRINCH IS A NASTY CHARACTER FROM  THE BRAIN OF DR SUESS. HE LARGELY REPRESENTS NEGATIVE THINGS OR NEGATIVE THOUGHT

HE IS GENERALLY MEAN, DESTRUCTIVE, MALEVALENT, SMELLY AND CERTAINLY NOT SOMEONE YOU WOULD WANT TO GET CLOSE TO.  OFTEN, PARTICULARLY OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS, I HAVE STRONGLY RELATED TO HIM WHILE IN A NEGATIVE FRAME OF MIND AND THINGS IN MY LIFE JUST WERE’NT GOING THE WAY I WANTED THEM TO GO.  I GET VERY ANGRY, ANNOYED, FORGETFUL AND NOT TOO PLEASANT TO BE AROUND. YOU JUST ASK MY WIFE!

WELL, I COMMITED THE CARDINAL SIN OF OMITTING TO GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE TO MY LONGTERM  STUDIO ASSISTANT, ARLENE YARNELL. SHE IS ALMOST PART OF THE FAMILY HAVING  HAS WORKED WITH JUDI AND I FOR 21 YEARS AS PART OF THE TEAM  THAT IS ‘CHOSIN POTTERY.  IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT WE DO AND THE ENTITY WE HAVE CREATED GO TO THE TOP OF THE LINKS AND YOU WILL LIKELY FIND OUT MORE THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW. GETTING BACK TO ARLENE, PROFUSE APOLOGIES, DEAR, WILL YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? I PROMISE TO NEVER OVERLOOK YOU AGAIN.  OR YOU JUDE.  IT REMINDS ME OF ONE OF THE BLOG  SECTIONS THAT I PLAN AS A REGULAR COLUMN – “WHY ARE MEN SO STUPID?”  I FEEL TRULY HUNG OUT TO DRY!

YESTERDAY, I HAD A CALL FROM MY OLDER DAUGHTER KAREN, WHO LIVES IN EASTERN CANADA. SHE HAD BEEN OUT WITH HER MOTHER, MY FIRST WIFE, SUE HARA, CHECKING OUT THE SECOND HAND STORES.  IN ONE THEY FOUND A CASSEROLE THAT I HAD PROBABLY MADE 45 YEARS PREVIOUSLY IN MY ONTARIO STUDIO.  THE PRICE WAS MARKED AT $6.50 SO KAREN BOUGHT IT TO KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY.  NOW I KNOW MY TRUE VALUE AS AN ARTIST! I’M GLAD THAT THERE IS NO IMAGE OF THAT CASSEROLE. I HATE LOOKING AT MY OLD WORK WITHOUT A HAMMER IN HAND.  IF ITS OWNED BY SOMEONE ELSE ITS TOO LATE FOR QUALITY CONTROL. THE HAMMER IS THE BEST TOOL FOR QUALITY CONTROL,  EVERY STUDIO SHOULD HAVE A BIG ONE BESIDE THE KILN FOR A QUICK AND FINAL DECISION.

WELL, TIME TO QUIT FOR THIS WEEK   NICE TO THINK POSITIVELY THAT WE ARE NOW ONE WEEK CLOSER TO SPRING, AND I CAN CELEBRATE THE FIRST WEEK OF THIS BLOG.  SO, WE ARE HAVING A PARTY WITH SESAME STREET BAND.

I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON MONDAY. HAVE A RESTFUL WEEKEND

PS.       I JUST HEARD THAT  TWO DEAR ARTIST FRIENDS HAVE SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS.  PLEASE SEND POSITIVE ENERGY TO CRAIG ROGERS AND RACHEL KINGSTON.

 

 

TWELFTH NIGHT; OR, WHAT YOU WILL

“IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF LOVE, PLAY ON, GIVE ME EXCESS OF IT;”

THE FIRST LINE IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S  VERY POPULAR COMEDY.

THE FIFTH OF JANUARY IS ALSO KNOWN AS TWELFTH NIGHT, THE TIME, ACCORDING TO ENGLISH FOLKLORE, WHEN ONE IS TRADITIONALLY EXPECTED TO HAVE REMOVED ALL CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS  AND MADE ONE’S  NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS. HAVE YOU DONE YOURS?

I MISSED OUT SOME SPECIAL PEOPLE IN MY LIST IN YESTERDAY’S POST.  I KNOW IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO EVER COMPLETE THIS LIST AS IT IS ALWAYS CHANGING. MY APOLOGIES TO THOSE I MISSED BEFORE AND THOSE I WILL MOST CERTAINLY IN THE FUTURE. HERE IS THE CONTINUED LIST:

ANN MORTIMER,  ELAINE LIMBRICK,  JOHN BRITT, ANGELA FINA, CHARLES SPAHR, SHERMAN HALL, TOM AND ELAINE COLEMAN, DANIEL RHODES, TOM AND GINNY MARSH, POLLY BEACH,  BILL VAN GILDER, VINCE PITELKA, BRIAN AND GAIL MACARTHY, VAL CUSHING,

JULIE AND GERRY WILLIAMS, CHARLIE BLIM, JOHN GLICK, CYNTHIA BRINGLE, DAN FINCH, DICK LEHMAN, MARY BARRINGER, PHIL ROGERS, BERNARD PUCKER, JAN SCHACTER,  GRAHAM TURNBULL, MICK CASSON, VIC MARGRIE, BERNARD LEACH AND FAMILY, VIVIKA AND OTTO HEINO, MICHAEL CARDEW AND HANS COPER. ALL THESE WONDERFUL PEOPLE HAVE GIVEN GREATLY OF THEMSELVES FOR THE ETERNAL BENEFIT OF OTHERS, NOT ONLY IN THE CLAY COMMUNITY BUT IN THE GREATER REACHES  OF THE WHOLE WORLD.  TO THEM WE OWE A GREAT DEBT.

 

PS.

TODAY MARKS MY SIXTEENTH WEEK OF NONSTOP, DEBILITATING HEADACHES.  IF THERE ARE ANY MORE POSITIVE HEALING THOUGHTS AVAILABLE, PERHAPS YOU CAN CHANNEL THEM TOWARDS MY CRANIUM.

SEE YOU TOMORROW FOR THE LAST DAY OF THE FIRST WEEK IN THE LIFE OF THIS BLOG.   TTFN  RH