That's the kind of sentiment that keeps a lot of us making pots. We're about to enter the craft fair season here on Cape Cod, a crazy and often maddeningly unrewarding way of marketing these pots that I love to make. I sell pots not because I love selling, but so that I can keep buying clay and making pots.
But I always hope to find a buyer like Wesley, who spends time finding the cup (or mug or pitcher or vase ... ) that speaks to her and then has a relationship with that pot in her life. They're out there, but they're a minority.
As I sit here, I've got a Michael Kline teabowl, just emptied of morning coffee, next to my keyboard. And I have many more by friends and acquaintances, pots that get me into the morning, through the day and sometimes through the evening. English potter Paul Jessop's big tankard, for example, often holds the water with lime that I drink in the evening. I have relationships with all those pots.
Wes's teabowl (behind the rabbit in the second photo) was made a few years ago and might be one of the stack of three shown in Linda Bloomfield's 2011 book "Colour in Glazes." In any case, it clearly was made about the same time as those three crawled Shino cups. I'm glad Wes and the cup know each other so well.
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The top two of these photos were pirated from Tracey's blog. That's Wes in the first photo. The bottom photo is the one that appears in "Colour in Glazes."
6 comments:
we do need more young ones like Wesley who understand the concept and love of using a handmade mug.
Sweet post.
I'm visiting from Meredith's blog and I heartily agree! I love my pots and consider the potters who made them friends. It makes me very happy to serve dinner in various pots and bowls that I've collected over the years. Meredith made our honey pot, our friend Gary made my favorite cat mug, Warren McKenzie made the little odd bowl that I always use for sour cream on baked potatoes, the list goes on. Each pot has a story and they make me feel good to use them every day.
Thanks for this wonderful post. Good luck on your summer festivals!
We had Spring Pottery Fair a couple of weeks ago.It was my fourth year at this show and it went very well. I try not to count my sales til after the show so at the end of the day I had no idea how much I had sold but I knew I was a happy potter. I had many people come to tell me how much they loved the pots they bought two or three years ago and that they had come to the show hoping to find me and buy more. Sometimes it is as if there are pots that find their way to their intended owners.I think that is what yours did with Wesley.
Great post! I'm really just setting out on my potter's journey, but I am always asking my customers (as few and far between as they are) to use their pots and let me know hwo they affect their day. You're workign for all the right reasons, and providing a great example for fledgling potters, like myself, to follow.
I never understand why everyone doesn't love hand crafted pottery. Towards the end of last year I had a horrible ear infection, complete with deafness and underwater whooshing noises in my head, anyway, I was off work for over a week and one of the things that cheered me up was having a coffee mid morning using my Doug Fitch mug. I am excited about getting my hands on some Hollisware this year. Emma
Awwwww, such a nice post, thanks!
We love our "hollis ware" !!!
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