“To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Not surprisingly, Chris’s kids have grown up using handmade pots and cups, and one day Chris asked his youngest daughter what it’s like to use handmade pieces, and she said “Dad, I really like the mistakes”.
It’s that beautiful messiness of fine craftsmanship that creates something that’s one-of-a-kind and gloriously unpredictable. As in life, where we are so much more than a series of precise measurements; we are not exact templates. As in life, each cup holds a story, transferred from the hands that make it and then again transformed by the hands that hold and share it.
Our mistakes add interest, color, and emotion ~ whether in our craft, or in our life. I call them happy accidents, because nine times out of ten they lead to a new idea or thought or road one might not have travelled, and we’re made the richer.
This is one of Chris’s most touching video’s, imperfectly perfect, where his trademark honesty shines through. Enjoy!
(If you missed my introduction about Chris Staley, master potter, educator and Penn State Laureate 2012-2013, you can read that here.)
proactively punctuating life with the plausible, powerful possibilities of positive thought presented through a plethora of “P’s”.
Pancakes. Because, really, who doesn’t love pancakes? Need I say more? Let’s fire up the griddle. : )
(see our growing, ongoing Plethora of P’s here)
What do Calculus, Global Security, Home Staging, Fashion, Landscaping and a Novel have in common? (This isn’t really a trick question or anything, don’t worry.)
The answer is that they’ve all been in recent need of creative branding, design, writing and editing. And that means, from my standpoint, that they’ve all required switching brains, switching gears, wearing different hats, whatever you want to call it, not just because of their varied subject matter, but shifting the mind to accommodate the conceptual and the functional ~ and yes, even those pesky administrative aspects, the parts having to do with getting things done on time, things like billing. That stuff. Then there are some social skills to call up, whether on the phone, in person, or in an email ~ and understanding the different nuances there. (You’ll go nowhere fast if you don’t communicate well. We’re in the communication business, after all.)
So the mind is constantly on go-go-go, turning on a dime. Left brain, right brain? Middle? Who knows? I do know, though, that the brain is an amazingly marvelous piece of equipment. I’m a fan of the brain. I like that it can do all kinds of dazzling acrobatics and land on its proverbial feet without being too dizzy (most of the time). I like that it can re-fuel by taking in a sunset, or doing something menial like emptying the dishwasher. I like that it has all these ideas that feed on each other, making more ideas ~ like breeding rabbits. I like that it’s excited by fabulously written words, and tickled by humor and capable of translating different languages (I watch with awe as one of my daughter’s friend’s speaks perfect Russian one minute and perfect English the next, and wonder how does she think? – in English, in Russian? How does that all happen in a split second?) and how it sends messages to the body informing it to step easily on a twisted ankle, or instructs the fingers, without a word, on which piano notes to play. It’s just the coolest thing.
So I’ve never understood why some people might pigeon-hole a creative worker. They might say, gosh, your work is great, but I don’t see anything relating to Dog Food Products. Or, have you done something with Cosmetics? Mayan Weaving as Vocal Therapy? Like it matters?
It’s never about “the thing”, it’s about an essence of “the thing”, and the expression of that essence. It’s not about Dog Food. It’s about the Dog Food being nutritious, or delicious, or natural, or for puppies or big dogs or small dogs. It’s about bringing the best of something to the table. A well-practiced and well-exercised mind will switch accordingly.
You want Rocket Science? Red Wine? Dragons? No problem. Just let me switch brains … okay – wait – okay … there we go. Ready.
Chris Staley
“I like that sense of contemplation that can happen when you’re drinking out of a cup, and (how that touch) has a way of actually slowing time down.” [Chris Staley]
In this week’s video, Chris describes the making of, and meanings behind, a cup, starting with a very to-the-point question his professor asked when he was a graduate student: When you make a cup, do you want it to be used, or to be displayed in someone’s livingroom?
And as ever, maybe in part because I was so horrible at a potter’s wheel myself back in the day, it’s a pleasure to watch him work his craft.
(If you missed my introduction about Chris Staley, master potter, educator and Penn State Laureate 2012-2013, you can read that here.) Enjoy!
Bright young talent just shines in Dana Tanamachi.
I completely adore what’s she doing ~ by hand, with a practically perfect mixture of head and heart ~ and luckily for her, so do some big name clients. It’s very, very cool. And in this day and age of technology, it’s wonderfully refreshing.
Enjoy the video ~ enjoy the images!
isn’t this superb? my favorite!
You can see some great time-lapsed videos of the artist at work, here: http://tanamachistudio.com/time-lapse/
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a hard time finding my groove this month. And I’m really not sure what the connection is, but I’ve noticed a couple of recurring themes ~ so maybe that’s a start.
First there’s yellow. Not normally a color I’m especially drawn to (I like yellow, don’t get me wrong ~ in fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever met a color I didn’t like. Well, that’s not true, but that’s for another time), it’s been popping up and infusing itself into my work as if of its own volition … perhaps forcing cheer, optimism and luminosity into my sub-conscious mind. Or maybe it’s coming from my sub-conscious. Either way, I guess it’s not a bad thing.
So, there’s that. Yellow, welcome to my world.
At the same time, dragons are shrieking. You may (or may not) know that I’ve been working on my Book of Dragons for some time now. There’s just not been enough time in the day to get it done in the timeframe I’d hoped for, and no one has offered an all-expenses-paid art retreat in Tuscany or Fiji, or even North Dakota. As a result, many of them (the dragons) are still in my head instead of freed on paper, and they are restless, let me tell you. It was hard to get this one to calm down from a very fitful slumber long enough to capture the basics.
So the beasts are on the march, and yellow is pervasive. And that is that.
Although somehow it might tie in with having felt overwhelmed with all the various irons in the proverbial fire for so many months, and the so many months before that. And storms, and a holiday, then another, then another. You know how that goes. And then all that non-stopping made my back say “you’ve had enough, but you’re not relenting, so I’ll make you!” So there was that. And then January and the yellow and the dragons started happening. I dunno, maybe it all fits, somehow. And then again, maybe not.
But if one were to portend … maybe there’s a yellow dragon in my future… a happy, luminous beast. Until then, it’s back to work and finding my groove ~ but stay tuned!
“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art – write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.” ~ Neil Gaiman
Ah yes, the start of a new year. A clean slate, a start-over, a re-assess, an uncharted map. It’s a brand new day. It’s a blank canvas ~ your canvas ~ just waiting for some general direction, a lot of spirit and a splash of color.
Happy New Year ~ paint it well!
What are your dreams? What do you really yearn for? What makes your heart smile, your toes tingle, your eyes sparkle, just imagining it were real? What thoughts bring light to your spirit and peace to your mind?
It starts with a single, shiny thought. Maybe just the whisper of an idea; maybe a booming revelation ~ maybe you overhear something on a crowded bus that sparks you to action, maybe it’s a piece of music, a taste of something delicious; maybe it’s a child’s tears or the launch of a rocket; maybe it’s the grace of a winding river or the steady power of a mountain or the freedom of a bird in flight; maybe it’s a flower growing through a crack in the sidewalk. Who knows where the stuff of dreams comes from, but we all have them. Sometimes I think our job is to find the key, unlock the door and venture out towards a path we’ve always known we belonged on but didn’t know was there ~ or didn’t recognize through the bramble of life’s distractions ~ or, yes, even, with a million variations of reasoning, talked ourselves away from.
So maybe this is the year we listen more, with eyes and hearts more open; maybe this is the year we hear the rumblings in our soul with renewed anticipation, renewed interest, renewed commitment to step closer to that stuff of our dreams.
Wishing us all the brightest of dreams, the courage to honor them, and much love, laughter, health, harmony and happiness along the way. Bring it on.
If you’re not in the holiday spirit yet (and even if you are), here’s one more. Cheers!
