EDUCATION

SEVERAL PEOPLE WROTE AND ASKED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL LIKELIHOOD OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY TEACHING POSITIONS. MY OBSERVATIONS HAVE BEEN THAT WHEN A TEACHING POSITION BECOMES AVAILABLE, THERE IS A VERITABLE HORDE OF POTENTIAL CANDIDATES. DEPENDING ON THE POSITION THERE IS USUALLY UPWARDS OF 20 FOR EACH AVAILABLE FACULTY POSITION. FOR POSITIONS THAT OFFER TENURE AND HIGH VISIBILITY, THE CANDIDATES IN THE RACE MIGHT GET TO OVER 100.  FACULTY GENERALLY STAY IN A POSITION FOR BETWEEN 10 AND 35 YEARS, EFFECTIVELY ELIMINATING THAT POSITION FOR AS LONG AS THE PERSON REMAINS IN PLACE.

WHEN ADMINISTRATORS ARE WORKING ON SETTING COURSE COSTS THEY USUALLY WORK BASED ON THE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF SPACE NEEDED TO FULFILL THE JOB AT HAND.  ON AVERAGE IT TAKES 27 SQ FT FOR A CERAMICS STUDENT AND, 9 SQ FT FOR A COMPUTER ENGINEER OR PROGRAMMER. THEREFORE YOU CAN GET 3 COMPUTER PEOPLE IN THE SPACE NEEDED FOR  ONE CLAY WORKER. COURSE SUCCESS IS USUALLY MEASURED BY THE NUMBER OF JOB PLACEMENTS ACHIEVED. VIRTUALLY EVERY COMPUTER PERSON HAS A JOB WAITING. FOR CERAMIC ARTISTS IN IS NORMALLY 1 IN 20.  THEY DON’T USUALLY COUNT BEING SELF-EMPLOYMENT AS HAVING A JOB!
SELF TEACHING

THIS IS A LITTLE OF A MISNOMER. WHAT IT REALLY MEANS IS LEARNING OUTSIDE OF THE NORMAL ACADEMIC ARENA THROUGH MANY POSSIBLY AVAILABLE AVENUES WITH MANY DIFFERENT SCENARIOS. YOU CAN START TO LEARN FAMILIARITY WITH CLAY AT THE KITCHEN TABLE WITH ONLY A FEW CHEAP TOOLS AND CLAY. LEARNING BASIC HANDBUILDING DISCIPLINES OF PINCHING, COILING SLAB-BUILDING AND COMBINATIONS OF THESE SIMPLE PROCEDURES WILL GIVE YOU THE POSITIVE FEEDBACK OF SIMPLE CONTROL. THEY TEACH YOU THE “FEEL” OF CLAY AT A SLOW SPEED. GETTING THIS BASIC FEEL IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT WHEN YOU START TO LEARN HOW TO THROW CLAY ON A WHEEL AND EVERYTHING IS SPEEDED UP. THE POTTERS‘ WHEEL IS A DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE LOOKING TOOL THAT TAKES MANY YEARS TO MASTER.  EXERCISES SPEED UP THE LEARNING PROCESS BY CREATING AMBITION TO IMPROVE. THROWING EXERCISES ARE THE POTTER’S EQUIVALENT OF THE MUSICIAN’S PLAYING SCALES. WHEN I WAS A STUDENT WE WEREN’T ALLOWED TO KEEP ANYTHING UNTIL WE COULD THROW CYLINDERS 6” WIDE AND 18” TALL OR 18” WIDE AND 6” TALL. IF YOU CAN THROW THAT, YOU CAN BASICALLY THROW ANYTHING. MY ANALYTICAL BASIC   THROWING VIDEO SHOWS MANY LEARNING VARIABLES AND EXERCISES TO HELP SPEED UP THE LEARNING PROCESS. AS WITH MUSIC, THE MORE YOU PRACTICE, THE BETTER AND MORE MELODIC THE MUSIC YOU CAN MAKE. WHEN YOU SEE VERY EXPERIENCED POTTERS THROWING IT ALL LOOKS SO EASY. THERE ARE MANY VIDEOS AVAILABLE THAT COVER A HOST OF CERAMIC TOPICS.


TRY TO LEARN GLAZING, DECORATING AND FIRING TECHNIQUES AT THE SAME TIME AS YOUR THROWING OR HAND-BUILDING. ALL YOUR SKILLS ARE THEN BEING DEVELOPED TOGETHER AND WON’T LEAVE YOU WITH A WHOLE LOT OF WORK AND NOT THE FAINTEST IDEA OF WHERE TO GO NEXT!


THERE ARE MANY PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL TEACHERS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND POTTERS GROUPS THAT PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE OPPORTUNITY FOR LEARNING. IN CONJUNCTION WITH WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES YOU CAN BUILD YOURSELF A LEARNING PACKAGE THAT DOESN’T BREAK THE BANK AND ALSO DOESN’T LEAVE YOU OVERLY INFLUENCED IN ANY ONE STYLE OF WORKING, ALLOWING YOU TO GROW AS AN INDIVIDUAL AND ELIMINATE BECOMING A CLONE USING SOMEONE ELSE’S STYLE.


A WORD OF CAUTION. 


DON’T GO OUT AND BUY ALL THE BEST EQUIPMENT AND SET YOURSELF UP WITH A FABULOUS, EXPENSIVE STUDIO UNTIL YOU HAVE PROVEN TO YOURSELF THAT THIS IS WHAT YOU REALLY WANT TO, AND CAN DO. ALSO, DON’T SELL YOUR WORK UNTIL IT IS A GOOD REPRESENTATION OF YOUR ABILITIES. REMEMBER THAT THE BEST TOOL IN THE POTTER’S STUDIO IS A LARGE, UNFORGIVING HAMMER BY THE SIDE OF THE KILN. IT IS THERE FOR QUALITY CONTROL. WE ALL MAKE JUNK SOMETIMES.  BETTER TO GET RID OF IT BEFORE IT HAS THE CHANCE OF POLLUTING THE VISUAL ENVIRONMENT. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO GET THOSE MISTAKES BACK ONCE THEY HAVE BEEN SOLD TO SOMEONE ELSE.  I MOVED FROM ENGLAND TO CANADA PARTLY TO ESCAPE THE LESS THAN GREAT POTS THAT I SOLD THERE!


SO, BASICALLY, THERE ARE YOUR EDUCATIONAL OPTIONS,  DEPENDING ON WHO YOU ARE AND YOUR REASONS FOR WANTING TO WORK IN THIS COMPLEX, BUT VERY BEAUTIFUL, MEDIUM. JOINING AND PARTICIPATING IN ORGANIZATIONS WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE IS ALSO A GOOD WAY TO GET INTEGRATED INTO THE GREGARIOUS GLOBAL CERAMIC SCENE. THE MORE INVOLVEMENT, THE BETTER THE LEARNING  AND APPRECIATION  SEEMS TO BE. THE FURTHER YOU STAY FROM WHERE IT IS HAPPENING, THE SLOWER THE LEARNING PROCESS.

MY ENGLISH ART COLLEGE EXPERIENCE

TOMORROW I START TO RE-CONNECT TO MY PERSONAL JOURNEY IN SCHOOL AT THE CROYDON COLLEGE OF ART IN SOUTH LONDON. THE LAST THING IN MY MIND WAS WANTING TO TEACH, I JUST WANTED TO DO CLAY ON THE ONE HAND AND WORK IN THEATERS ON THE OTHER. I FOUND THE PERFECT MARRIAGE FOR MY SKILLS.