Spring: A Moment to Restore Order

In college I had a college professor who had taught K-12 art longer than I had been alive.  She'd been teaching at the university for almost a decade when I took her class.  Judy was one of the most quietly influential instructors I've had the pleasure of learning from.  We've all had those instructors or influential people in our lives where just about everything they say has a loud, audacious, and immediate impact on our life.  Those people with such intelligence and authority that they tell you something and it makes you stop in your tracks and think, 'why the hell did I not know that?'.  Judy was not like that. I describe her influences as quiet because she was making an impact on me much before I even realized it.  Every so often I'll be working in my room, teaching a lesson, or sharing my experience with a colleague and I'll stop and realize I'm speaking Judy.

Muddy Buddies with Jen Allen at the Grand River Brewery.

Judy aged with such grace, that I can only hope one day, when I have wrinkles as deep as the pot holes of Michigan across my face, that I will look as attractive as her.  Her voice was sweet and soft and she always spoke in a conversational manner.  As feminine as her voice lilted, she had an almost baritone rasp at the ends of her words that emphasized her less than ladylike language.  When Judy would get on her soap box about art and education she would always let a few choice words fly but in contrast to her voice you always had to second guess what your ears actually heard.

Of all the things that Judy had said the one that I remember moving something inside me during the lecture was, "It's hard to balance being an art teacher and an artist.  My students always knew when I hadn't made my own art for awhile.  They would say, Mrs. Thurston, you need to make some art because you're grouchy.  So don't forget to take some time and work on those things that you need to in order to restore your creative soul."  I can pinpoint the exact days where I have been teaching a lesson and I could feel that surly, mundane mood upon me in the classroom.  Thanks to Judy,  I know that when I have that feeling, I go home and I make art.  If I can't use clay because of the weather, I draw, when I discover I'm out of charcoal, I sew; I stop the school work as soon as I leave the building and I listen to my creative desire so that I can recharge.  Papers can wait to be graded, lesson plans can wait to be written, but the excitement and passion you need to engage your students can't wait.  I firmly believe that my passion and personal creativity is what keeps my students so enthralled with projects and my lectures, without it I wouldn't be as effective, and so I take the time to restore order to my creative soul.  Having almost completed my third year of teaching, I am much better at halting my work to allow my batteries to recharge.  As a first year I worked myself to exhaustion and made very little art that year.

Jen working in the museum with a great setup.

It has been a while since I have made thrown work.  We bought the house in July, moved, I taught four full weeks of summer art classes that were in different parts of the state, and I got a new job.  By the time fall and winter arrived, I was exhausted but just finding my rhythm, however the turning of the weather prevented me from using clay.  My garage, which will soon be transformed into my studio, isn't insulated allowing me and my work to freeze. So my hands and creative energies have been away from dirt for just about 7 months, and I was becoming quite the grump in the classroom, when I decided I needed to recharge and get inspired in the ceramic realm.  A few friends and I attended the Three Days of Clay in Jackson, Michigan hosted by the Jackson Pottery and Clay Guild (JPCG).  This was just what my creative side needed.


I highly recommend attending this annual event held by JPCG.  I have been to Wooster for their Functional Clay Workshop, which I loved, and I have been to NCECA which has its ups and downs.  But for the price and level of commitment the guild members put into this workshop, I fell in love.  I am always skeptical of guilds.  I have encountered several guilds where they were more about their own self-promotion and less about helping one another and learning. I have attended guild functions where I was purposely made to feel secluded and isolated by the members.  Now there are some fantastic guilds out there I am sure, it appears it just takes me longer to meet them.  The JPCG is definitely the supportive learning community that I always imagined a guild should be.  As part of their Three Days of Clay Workshop, they hold a raffle for donated ceramic items and put the money towards local schools who are losing their ceramic programs because of funding cuts.  They made it clear that they were accepting of all skill levels and could make accommodations to include those who lived outside the greater Jackson area. All of the office holders, and general members of the guild that I spoke to were encouraging and were delightful to have a conversation with.  Jackson has a special community at the Ella Sharpe Museum of Art and History.

Jen's work in various stages. Photo Credit: Cathy McKenna

This year, the guild's presenter was Jennifer Allen, a functional potter with her hands deep in family, teaching, and surface design.  I learned a lot from Jen as she threw forms, demonstrated alterations, and her layering process for design. She is a wonderfully, laid back and entertaining demonstrator. To the right you can see some finished work she brought to sell, bisqued and decorated examples, as well as wet work that was auctioned off by the guild.  I am always eager to watch another artist who works in layers to achieve a decorated surface.  When working on my own work, I often wonder if I am using my layering practices to the best of their ability, so it is nice when I can cross reference and watch someone like Jen Allen work through their process.

My mug from the Mug Exchange.

In addition to two solid days of demos, there was an evening lecture of Jen's artistic process and inspirations, and a fun little meet and greet. On the second night, the JPCG held a mug exchange at the Grand River Brewery.  The brewery was an amazing place. It had a bit of a steampunk feel with some of the antiques and metal sculptures that were located throughout the large open room.  The JPCG had a party room, the only room separated from the main brewery floor by two walls with glass windows the entire length of the room.  Inside we set our mugs on a table and picked a place to start conversations with other ceramic enthusiasts.  After a short while, when all the mugs had been placed, we were able to look through them and take a mug that we did not bring.  It was interesting to see all the different styles of mugs people were working with.  I should have taken a picture of all of the mugs on the table but didn't think to.  The mug I chose was handbuilt with all this interesting texture and pattern done on a white clay body with what looks like a black oxide along with a maroon, dark green, black and clear glaze.  I usually am a stickler for picking mugs that appeal to me based on the handle comfort level and appearance, but this mug made me go against that.  I loved the surface of the mug so much that the rounded, extruded handle didn't bother me.  It isn't the most comfortable handmade mug I own, but no matter how many times I use it, I catch myself re-exploring the details.  I seem to always find something new to focus on which makes me extremely happy.

Jane and I enjoying the food, beer, and ambiance at the brewery.

The beer and food at the brewery was great.  I had their Cherry Poppin's Cherry Wheat beer.  I am a complete sucker for Montmorency cherries which it was brewed with.  This was a tasty, fairly light beer that wasn't too sweet like some fruit beers I have had previously.  The cherry taste was there but not overly strong, almost subtly.  To accompany the beer I chose to split the Bavarian Pretzels with friends.  These soft, extra fluffy pretzel sticks were delicious and came with a spicy cream ale mustard sauce.  The tang of the mustard was toned down by the ale's deep flavor.  It was not hot spicy, but more like a fresh mustard spicy that demanded attention.  As my meal, I chose the pierogi's with potato and cheese served on top of warmed sauerkraut and cooked onions with a delightful drizzle of creme fraiche; I was elated to see pierogi's on the menu as I grew up having my grandmother make them for family gatherings.  The dish was comforting with the warm kraut and dough of the pierogi but the creme fraiche created a lightness to the meal I hadn't been expecting.
 The meal made for a great conversation at our table as well as the ongoing workshop.

This is definitely a workshop that I plan to attend again and would recommend it to any Michigan or nearby Midwest ceramic artist.  When I attend a workshop my goal is to always leave feelings that my art educator self and my artist self gained new knowledge and gave back to those around me.  The Three Days of Clay workshop is one of the first conferences in a long time where I felt I gave as much as I took away, inspiring me to add new elements to my work and putting a fresh spring in my step.  Upon returning to my classroom, my irritable mood had left me, and I once again felt the calm and uplifting atmosphere I make my room to be.  My students seemed to be pleased with the fresher, Miss D who returned from a weekend of art.

Happy dabbling.