In one of my last assignments as a newspaper reporter, I interviewed six full-time potters who live and work in Central Maryland. Between them they had 160 years of experience in their craft - it's no surprise they taught me a lot about my own.
Perhaps the greatest lesson was in the concept of craft - that pottery, writing, and every other art are lifelong endeavors that require daily commitment.
And that the pursuit of craft is a paradox - while a potter surrenders to the discipline of the clay, she is trying to master it at the same time.
This paradox applies to all kinds of artists — as do many of the other lessons learned from these potters. By taking a peek into the world of these six potters, artists can find ways to enhance their own craft.
Dedication
Once they made the decision to be a potter, there was no turning back for these six. Not that there weren't hard times - Susan set up her first studio in an abandoned chicken coop. Robert lived in a rundown Kentucky farmhouse, virtually rent free, so he could practice without financial pressure.
Bill calls this all or nothing attitude among potters "mud in the blood" - an unwavering calling to work with clay every day. No matter the sacrifice.
Daily work habits
Any writer who complains about how hard their work is should visit a working potter's studio. Better yet, be forced to work in one.
To begin their day, a potter will knead 25 pounds of raw clay to make it pliable. Then they throw individual pieces on the wheel. One mug after the other, after the other. Potters often work 12 hours a day, with dried clay caked on their wrists, but a serene look on their faces.
Because a full-time potter is essentially a one-person factory, the work is ceaseless. In order to stay in business, a potter has to produce new mugs, bowls or platters. Every day.
High standards
One day, Bill smashed a finished pot with a ball-peen hammer. He wasn't having an artistic tantrum, though - he was taking an imperfect creation off the market. Permanently.
"It was a second. It didn't come out the way it was supposed to," Bill said. "The only way to keep your reputation up is to make sure everything you put out there meets your standards."
Independent of one another, each of the potters had the same policy - substandard work never left the studio.
An eye on the market
Each of the six potters make a full-time living off their labor. That's why each of them is always keeping tabs on which of their pieces are moving and which have slowed down. They understand pottery is an art made possible by their paying customers. So they are constantly trying new things or abandoning old pieces that no longer sell.
Article comments
1 - Tom Johnson
Frank, that has to be one of the most interesting items I've read on Blogcritics. Nice work - what you learned from your subjects shows in your writing.
2 - Ben McLaughlin
I too enjoyed this piece. Recently, I've been thinking a lot about the way music relates to writing, perspective on another media provided some interesting comparsion.