As I said in my first post, I wanted this blog to not just be a daily recounting of the events at the pottery but also a more three dimensional look into the apprenticeship as an experience. There is a metaphor that I think describes well what I (and I am only speaking for myself) think an apprenticeship offers...
If I go to foreign country my experience is going to be defined a lot by the types of interactions I have with those who live in that country. I could go to France and climb the Eiffel Tower, eat some frois gras and have a great time but if I don't speak French I am going to be limited in my ability to communicate. The apprenticeship that I have been doing has given me those tools. It has given me the technical "language" to express myself. Now...the only problem is that I speak the language with the heavy accent of the person who taught me. But the question is then asked...is that a problem?
I think overwhelmingly in our culture there is a enormous emphasis on the individual. Whether that be in an academic setting where the student is pursuing their own vision or any other part of society. The emphasis is on the self and that is where an apprenticeship is difficult. It requires the individual do put their own ideas on hold and create something that is not their own. All around me I see younger potters around my age going off and creating and making their own work and having openings and sales and all that comes with being on your own and it can be difficult at times to not want that right away. But that again is another thing that we have been conditioned into and it takes a deliberate effort know we are on the right path. No matter how slow it seems at times....
8 comments:
Alex, I'm glad you've brought this up because it's something I've thought about to some degree. I agree that society expects us to be individuals, as artists anyhow. I've often wondered how someone such as yourself, in an apprenticeship position, deals with the fact that your work will have the 'accent of the person that taught you'. Is it something you will nurture and continue along those lines or will you want to change it drastically somehow, ie become more individual. I think both directions are valid. Or some middle ground.
I ask some of this because I myself know that I work within a certain 'style', taken from the potters who I have come to admire from my years learning to make pots. I feel like I have taken bits and pieces from lots of folks but still I see that I belong to a certain 'country' (to try to use the France metaphor) of potters. I guess in my case it's the country of Minnesota. Ha. I feel at times I want to be more individual, more original, maybe I am already, maybe I just can't see it. Maybe it will happen as I go (as I am sure it does for most of us who pursue clay as a lifetime journey). Anyhow you can see I have thoughts on this and I hope you'll continue to share more of your ideas and point of view. Just for the record, I didn't have an apprenticeship, nor did I go to school for art/clay. I've mostly learned on my own and from going to workshops and craftschools.
Okay sorry that was extremely long.
Ron, Im realy glad you wrote as much as you did. I am going to address the issue of haveing your teachers "accent" in a later post (when im not on my lunch break) but Ill just say this for now. For me, tradition is important. I think that there is a reason why certain things hold up over time and others get folded into the passing of time. I don't think that I am going to be striving to do something that has never been done before. My sister is a painter in NYC and she has to constantly be inventing something new...but I don't think that thats always needed in pottery (and im thankful). Some types of ceramics yes, but not what I want to do. I want to make beautiful pots that don't require a degree to understand them. I think that what I want is for two people to be able to stand side by side, one who knows nothing about pottery and the other who knows alot and for both of them to be able to say, "thats purdy" or "thats pretty". Ive drifte off the subject but my point I guess is that I will always have some of Matt in my work and he will always have some of Mark and Todd and Todd and Mark will always have some Cardew and Cardew will always have some Leach and so on and so forth, just like you have those who inspired you. I think it is a great thing. It roots the work in something larger than just the present. But this is just my own oppinion and I welcome all points of view! That was a little longer than intended...
I was thinking about this discussion all yesterday in the workshop. Just off out to the sawmill now, but I look forward to joining the conversation later on when(if) I get a minute's peace, if not later, soon.
Great pots Alex, you'd be a star already if you were in the UK
Cheers
Doug... can't wait to read your words. I feel like some of the pots that Im making for Matt these days are like little cousins of your stuff. Related, but a few generations removed:) I look foreward to hearing your take on the subject. Back to birdhouses....
As someone who has just started potting (and I feel like this is where I need to be, regardless of where I've been up until now), I am extremely interested in other beginners and how they feel about their craft.
I wouldn't worry too much about your "accent". We're all made up of a combination of the accents of every person and place we've encountered because we, as artists, gather our inspiration from the world. We all have our own eyes and our own unique hands so therefore it will always be our own no matter what the influence.
I just long for the day when it's my bread and butter.
Michele,
Im glad that you are finding some stuff in here that speaks to where you are too, These days I don't worry so much about being so influenced by Matt. There were times at the beggining that those thoughts plaugued me a bit more but not so much anymore. Good luck to you!
Alex and Ron,
This is an interesting conversation and I would just like to interject that influence is a two-way street. Certainly an apprentice is absorbing a particular potter's work and decorative ideas for a time, but even before the apprentice realizes it, he is varying the routine and subtly adding and changing the work to fit his own vision. The "master" sees and picks up on the apprentice's growth, and what may seem like regurgitation to the apprentice suggests new vision and life to the master, a new decorative thread to follow. In this way,a non-verbal decorative and formal conversation is taking place. Two potters responding to one another and forging a collective vision. The "master's" vision defines the direction and the pace and ultimately the quality of the shop's output, but the apprentice is an integral part of the creative journey.
Hi thanks for sharing this
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