Friday, May 30, 2014

New Horizons

As the sun rises I awake to the sound of swallows on the windowsill and the river flowing behind the apartment, and increasingly when I wake I greet the day with the thought that today is going to be a day to create. A day to play. Another day to dream more. I am getting closer and closer to the genesis of my love for pottery. It is one of the few areas I have found where I am actually able to directly (at times at least) translate my dreams into physical being. Sometimes those dreams are spawned from seeing other potter's work, sometimes from nature, and sometimes from the clay itself as it spins on the wheel. My enthusiasm for pots has only been on the incline since I last wrote my friends.

Now, I know that was a long time ago, and I am sorry for abandoning you a bit. You see, I created a Facebook business page for A. Sartorius Ceramics, and the benefits and progress of continuing to post there are far and away more measurable and read than my continued posting on Blogger has been. This could be, and probably is, user error to some degree. However I have a new resolution to do my very best to post once a week here. I like having the ability to go more into the details of what I am reading about, listening to, and thinking about my making process. So I think we'll dub Thursday the day for thoughts and thinkings on all things throwing and pottery related.


In the time between our last conversation I've stumbled upon a few really great things for all those creatively minded with a pension for pots. The Tales of a Red Clay Rambler  is a weekly podcast put out by Ben Carter who is fantastic potter. Ben is doing some really incredible stuff and is very vocal about potters being culture makers. His interviews with other potters talk about everything from the state of the contemporary market to artist's inspirations and creative movements. I look forward to the new podcast each week, and you should check it out!

May was a busy month for me, with two really fantastic shows. The first was an event in Matsuyama, Ehime at the Sen Guesthouse. Live music by three of my very good friends from Kochi, and the guest house owners mixed up some delightful specialty cocktails for the event. Loads of great people came bye.

Towards the end of the month I participated in a group show at the Quard Market in Ino. This event was WAY busier than I was ready for, and was an absolute blast to go to. A day of local artists, food vendors, and musicians all coming together. There were tons of people. Great times all around.

Like I said I am going to make a concerted effort to bring this blog back into the light of day once a week. There's always more to talk about, and pots to be made! Hopefully I can revamp the blog a bit and get it up to the same level as the A. Sartorius Ceramics facebook page (which you should definitely go check out), and while you're there you should go ahead and pop on over to my brand spanking new Etsy shop! It's just getting off the ground, and I'm a total beginner at managing all this digital media, but it's the way of the future! And that future, it's coming our way. See you next Thursday!