TEACHING - AN ACT OF LOVE.

WEDNESDAY, 15TH FEBRUARY, 2012

THIS IS MY 33RD POSTING ON THS BLOG SINCE NEW YEAR'S EVE 2011. THIS ONE IS WRITTEN ON ST. VALENTINES DAY. I STARTED THE BLOG BECAUSE I AM NO LONGER ABLE TO DO MY TRAVELS AROUND THE GLOBE DOING WORKSHOPS AND LECTURES AS I HAD BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST 45 YEARS. MY DOCTOR AND MY WIFE, NOT THE SAME PERSON, HAVE TOLD ME IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, THAT MY ITINERANT TEACHING IS NOW A THING OF THE PAST, DUE TO A BURNOUT SITUATION LAST FALL. TEACHING, OR MORE PROPERLY, HELPING PEOPLE LEARN HAS ALWAYS BEEN A LARGE PART OF MY WORKING LIFE. YOU CAN'T ACTUALLY TEACH PEOPLE ANYTHING, JUST HELP THEM LEARN AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO FIND AND EXPLORE THEIR OWN INDIVIDUALITY.

I CHOSE TO DO THE BLOG BY WRITING IT AS MY PERSONAL AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL JOURNEY, WHERE I HAVE FORTUNATE TO HAVE BEEN  TO A HOST OF PLACES, AND DONE A GREAT VARIETY OF THINGS. A FEW YEARS BACK I SAW THE FOLLOWING SIGN ON A LARGE OUTDOOR SIGN AT A LOCAL CHURCH AND IT REALLY HIT ME HARD AS A TEACHER.

WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO BRING OUT THE INDIVIDUALITY IN OUR STUDENTS, RATHER THAN TEACH THEM TO BE JUST CARBON COPIES OF OURSELVES.  

IT IS VERY EASY TO ENCOURAGE CLONING, BUT IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO BRING OUT THE SPECIAL QUALITIES AND DIFFERENCES OF SOMEONE ELSE, RELATED TO THEIR LIFE EXPERIENCES. NO TWO PEOPLE HAVE EXACTLY THE SAME  LIFE EXPERIENCES, BUT YOU WOULDN'T KNOW IT IF YOU LOOKED AT MANY CRAFT STORES AND GALLERIES.  THERE IS SO MUCH THAT LOOKS AS THOUGH IT CAME FROM THE SAME HAND, AND SO LITTLE THAT SHOWS OBVIOUS INDIVIDUALITY AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT BASED ON PERSONAL  EXPERIENCE. ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES COMES FROM A SMALL NUMBER OF ARTISTS WITH VERY STRONG PERSONAL STYLES WHO TEACH THEIR STYLE OF WORKING TO HUNDREDS OF OTHER POTTERS EACH YEAR THROUGH WORKSHOPS. THIS LEADS TO MUCH LOOKALIKE WORK THAT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR THE STUDENT TO GET AWAY FROM BECAUSE IT IS GENERALLY EASY TO DO AND GENERALLY LOOKS GOOD SO THEY KEEP ON DOING IT, CONVINCING THEMSELVES THAT IT IS ORIGINAL.  

THE ORIGINAL TEACHER  THEN COMPLAINS THAT HE OR SHE HAS SO MANY PEOPLE COPYING HIS OR HER WORK AND SELLING IT AT A LOWER PRICE THAT THEY CAN NO LONGER MAKE A LIVING.

WHAT I HAVE TRIED TO DO THROUGH MY BLOG POSTINGS IS TO POINT OUT THE VARIED EXPERIENCES IN MY LIFE THAT HAVE GIVEN ME A UNIQUE VIEWPOINT. I'M PLANNING TO CARRY ON ALONG THOSE LINES AS LONG AS IT WORKS!

WORKSHOP IN LAWRENCE, KANSAS

WHAT I ALWAYS TRIED TO DO IN MY WORKSHOPS WAS TO HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF VARIETY IN THE CONTENT, SO THAT THE PARTICIPANT COULDN'T POSSIBLY COME UP WITH A COPY OF WHAT I HAD DONE. IT INVARIABLY CENTERED AROUND VARIOUS DECORATION PROCESSES FROM TRADITIONAL EUROPEAN SLIPWARE TO ASIAN COLORED CLAY PROCESSES, AND BRUSHWORK DECORATION PROCESSES TO GLAZE AND COLOR PROCESSES. MANY PEOPLE USE THE WORD "TECHNIQUES" WHERE THE PROPER WORD IS "PROCESS". "PROCESS" IS WHAT IS BEING DONE; TECHNIQUE" IS THE SKILL WITH WHICH IT IS DONE. YOU CAN HAVE A GREAT PROCESS BUT BAD TECHNIQUE. YOU CAN EQUALLY HAVE BAD PROCESS SALVAGED BY GREAT TECHNIQUE.  PROBLEMS MOST LIKELY DERIVE FROM LACK OF EXPERIENCE IN DOING WHATEVER IS BEING DONE. MANY THINGS IN CLAY SURFACING TAKE A LOT OF PRACTICE TO ACHIEVE OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS. THE VARIATIONS OF SLIPWARE ARE AN OBVIOUS EXAMPLE, WHERE THE OBJECT BEING DECORATED HAS TO BE JUST THE RIGHT STAGE OF DRYNESS AND THE SLIP MUST HAVE THE THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF MOISTURE FOR IT TO WORK PROPERLY. TIMING AND SPEED OF APPLICATION ALSO MEAN THAT YOU CAN ONLY LEARN THIS BY TRIAL OR ERROR.

STAFFORDSHIRE SLIPWARE, PELICAN IN HER PIETY 

ENGLISH 18TH CENTURY

MADE BY THOMAS TOFT

STAFFORDSHIRE SLIPWARE - KING AND RAT PLATE

ENGLISH 18TH CENTURY

MADE BY RALPH SIMPSON

ANOTHER SLIPWARE PROCESS, BASED ON GEOLOGICAL PROCESSES IS CALLED MOCHA DIFFUSIONS.  COLORANT IS MIXED WITH MILD ACID SUCH AS TOBACCO JUICE OR VINEGAR IS DRIPPED INTO A SLIP OF THE CORRECT VISCOSITY AND CREATES THE PATTERN OR TREES AND BRANCHES. WHAT HAPPENS IS AN ACID/ALKALI REACTION, BUT TIMING, AND CONSISTENCY OF BOTH SLIP AND COLORANT MIX ARE CRITICAL TO IT WORKING.

DENDRITIC LIMESTONE

MOCHAWARE PITCHER, EARLY 19TH CENTURY, CORNWALL, ENGLAND

THE MORE KNOWLEDGE OF THE MEDIUM AND THE MORE SENSITIVE YOUR TECHNIQUE BECOMES, THE EASIER IT IS TO ACHIEVE THE RESULTS YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF POTENTIAL DECORATIVE PROCESS YOU CAN WORK WITH. WHEN YOU GET AN IDEA, TRY IT AND SEE, IF IT DOESN'T WORK FIRST TIME, TRY IT AGAIN. IF IT STILL REFUSES, MAYBE YOU HAVE A BAD PROCESS, OR NOT ENOUGH TECHNIQUE

NEXT POST WILL BE ON FRIDAY, 17TH FEBRUARY, 2012. IT WILL CONTINUE ALONG THE LINES OF THIS POSTING