The Measure of Success

Often, we measure success by the money we make, the car we drive, the clothes we wear.  We measure success by how much someone paid for a piece of art that we created, how many pieces we can sell at a show, or how many pieces we can make in a day, a week, a month.  Perhaps those are are some measures of success, but do those measures help us grow as artists or as people?  A woman came into the shop today and told me about a dinner party she had, at which he serve her coffee and tea in the handmade mugs she has purchased throughout the years.  She explained how everyone loved them and the fact that they were all so different.  That simple story warmed my heart.  That is success.  This woman told us how much she loved our work, as did her friends.  This is the story that will make me go back to the studio and try to improve my work, try new shapes, and just get my hands in clay again.  It reminds me of why I love putting my hands in clay....so that others can enjoy the warmth of a mug filled with tea, enjoy eating off a beautiful plate to discover the lovely glaze when all their food is gone, or enjoy displaying nature's bounty in a unique one-of-a-kind vase.  That is what makes me happy...the joy of making others happy.  Success can be measured many ways, but perhaps happiness is the only true measure.

What do you like?

I don't know what you like, but I like chocolate....milk, dark, sweet, bitter....cookies, cake, bars, truffles...basically I like chocolate.  In fact, I love chocolate.  I also love pottery.  And just like chocolate it comes in all kinds of flavors and types.  Functional, scupltural...porcleain, stoneware, earthenware....I love it all.  Now, just as I love music...folk, swing, classical, indie rock, country, jazz, blues...there are some types of music that I like better depending on my mood, my environment, and what is going on in my life. And, to be clear, I'm not sure there is a chocolate I don't like.  Years ago, I listened to country music like it was going out of style.  Today, I still enjoy some great country like Johnny Cash or Willie Nelson, but I've grown out of it a little bit.  I don't know why, but I believe it is because I have been exposed to more and more music that I have honed my preferences.  I think the same can be said for art, in our case- pottery.  There are some styles that I absolutely love and want to hold in my hand all day long.  There are, however, others that I admire but it just doesn't hold my attention.  Is that a bad thing?  I don't think so.  It is so important to surround ourselves with a menagerie of pots with different lines, glazes, functions, bodies, etc.  The more we surround ourselves with a wide range of pots, the more we learn from them.  We see how different handles are fashioned, how lids fit, how feet are trimmed, how spouts are formed, how glazes feel.  Whether you love a piece, like it, or hate it...there is something to learn and to admire.  This can be said for any profession or hobby.  If you are a musician, a chef, a potter, a jeweler, a painter, a glass blower-I think you get the idea now-  surround yourself with as much of that media as possible and learn from what you like and from what you don't.  And by the way, I love all the following pieces.  

Ann Perry Smith

Val Cushing

Matt Hoogland

Gay Smith

Ilona Romule