Wednesday, May 7, 2014


Support Is Where You Find It If You Look . . .

Or Never Underestimate the Resourcefulness of the Creative Mind.  



Working primarily on small pinched vessels, I often am at the point in the process where the clay is still malleable and not able to sit on a flat surface without losing its lovely rounded bottom. So what to do?  Well, often I can flip the piece, rest it on its lip and wait until it becomes a bit harder before more pinching, pressing, scraping can be done.


But recently, I found myself in a spot where I was working on three pieces simultaneously and had them at the point where they were all a bit too soft to rest on their lips so here’s what happened:








Two of these perfect supports were found in the “free box” in our studio building and the other is a cup I made many years ago to hold my tea while I’m working.


I think the two plus years I spent as an art teacher in Uganda, East Africa helped expand my ability to be both inventive and a clever scavenger. Thank you ever so much, US Peace Corps, St. Leo’s College, Ft. Portal, Uganda and all the curious, open-minded, talented and respectful students I had the privilege of guiding and encouraging back in the day.


Those years truly changed the course of my life. From that point on, I realized just how much I not only loved teaching, but also how much teaching would enrich my own creative process.


Ah, yes, the lessons one learns when given the opportunity.



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