March 01, 2009

I am a bit of a spastic perfectionist....and creative dichotomy.













So... I have these place settings ready to glaze and fire but I am a bit of a spaz when it comes to deciding what a customer will consider "part of the hand-made process" and what is shoddy workmanship...Now, mind you, there is no "CRANKING OUT" of work hapening here... I'd love to say I can do that but truthfully, I cannot. I have a very hard time looking at the pieces of the set as a whole as opposed to inspecting each piece as though it would be sold on it's own.(which is actually easier as it doesn't have to MATCH the other pieces). It reminds me of the struggle developing a line of clothing....back to my "fashion design days of old"...only different.... Each piece/style needed to stand on it's own as something someone would buy off the rack just because they wanted that piece...However...It needed to make sense as part of an outfit, as well as part of the story being told in the collection...

I digress.

Meanwhile... on a slightly different note...Rachel Power who wrote the awesome book The Divided Heart: Art and Motherhood WHICH I LOVED and any mother artist(writer,dancer,visual,creative type...) should read,
posted a link to this talk on TED (but I was able to access the same talk on my blackberry through You Tube...)
I thought it was great. YOU can see it HERE.

A while ago I read Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert...Loved it... some love it...some don't. I loved it... What's not to love?
Someone told me they thought she was whining through out the book...I have no problem with whining(I whine all of the time, I guess)...I don't think it's really whining... It's struggling... struggling with our place in this world in our body that we have on loan until we leave it...
For those of us possessed by a "creative drive", the road can be a bit tough... Not that it's necessarily tougher than other human existance...just,well, different.
She gave a great talk and didn't sound like WHINING at all.
Leave that for me to do, Elizabeth.

12 comments:

  1. Judi~~ Your place settings look fabulous! And thanks for your mini book reviews... I haven't read either of them yet so I'll have to pick them up...

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  2. I totally agree Judi, Elizabeth did an INCREDIBLE job with EPL. I found it totally inspiring to say the very least! Good luck with your glazing, they look great! :)

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  3. I went through the same perfection this weekend with mugs. I mean, really it took me two days to get 12 mugs the way I wanted them. I read Divided Heart after seeing your blog, Loved It! Read Eat Love Pray, Hated IT!! I agree she was a whiner, waste of my time and money with that book. I think that I just couldn't relate to her at all because I have a great marriage of 23 years and a kick ass kid and we have a really happy life here. I would like to spend some time eating in Italy though. Good luck!

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  4. I still liked Eat Pray Love and I guess I just know women in that place... I'm married 15 years and have 2 great kids so that wasn't what I related to... I'm so glad you bought The Divided Heart though... Cool! Ugh...Mugs....

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  5. Absolutely lovely!!

    michele d.

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  6. Anonymous10:44 AM

    judi... nice place settings, have had similar thoughts about what would be considered "part of the handmade process". didn't read the book you mentioned but the video on youtube was really great.

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  7. It's a fine line that only the artist can answer. You will never be satisfied, but the customer is a much easier creature to please.

    By the way, if someone can fall in love with salt and pepper shakers, my mom is in love with hers!

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  8. Whitney!!!! Thanks.

    Jim and Michele... Thanks and Thanks.

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  9. What a nice photo of your place settings; can't wait to see how they coordinate. Thanks for the book reviews, I haven't read either one and I'm off to check utube. You had me laughing at your post, it sounded like you were going in so many directions at once.

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  10. Linda Linda Linda.... I DO go in so many directions at once!!!! hence...the post... This particular set place settings is to be cream... special order... they are all carved.. it's hard to see in the photo..Anyway.. Thanks for visiting!

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  11. Anonymous5:05 PM

    judi, thanks for the inspiration. I have been putting off throwing a new batch of plates with out any good reason other than my studio isn't heated. But after seeing this its plate time.

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  12. LEAH!!!
    How are ya... you'd better get going on them thar plates!

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