Day 11 – Professional Advice from Alleghany Meadows, Make, Use, Look, Think

Schedule with many changes

Our schedule ended up looking like this with lots of changes but we still got everything done.

Here are a few pearls of wisdom from Alleghany.  I apologize for the wonky memory these were taken from notes written months ago!

1. Making work is your expression of your experience in the world.  It is important that someone wants to live with your pots.  Look at the weaknesses before setting up.  Know the field, the traditions and actively pursue and make within those traditions.
2. How to put work out in the world?  Functional pots – the buyers love to meet the person who made the work.  Look for non profit art center galleries, such as The Clay Studio, Philadelphia or Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis.  Apply to juried shows, keep putting the work in front of jurors.  Try applying to artist in residence programs to focus on studio practice.  Important to document your work.
3. Metaphor: you have a really smooth functioning car and you take out the engine and all its parts.  Then you put the parts back together some will thrive and some with not.
4. Artist’s statements: thinking and writing about your work in the language of making.  What is the process?  For example – Anne Currier’s work is clean and sculptural, Tony Marsh, Chris Gustin, Bobby Silverman are about the contrasts.  Read their artists statements.

And so we came to the goodbyes and Meg Kelly read the following:

Hopi Prophecy 2000

“Here is a river flowing now very fast.

There will be those who are afraid.

Who will try to hold onto the shore.

They are being torn apart and will suffer greatly.

Know that the river has it’s destination.

The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river keep our eyes open and our heads above water.

And I say see who is there with you and celebrate.

At this time in history we are to take nothing personally least of all ourselves.

For the moment we do our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.

The time of the one wolf is over.

Gather yourselves!  Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary

.

All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration for we

are the ones we have been waiting for.”