Artist's Statements -- You gotta love 'em...

After learning enough about ceramics to be dangerous to myself and others I managed to convince a local gallery to begin carrying some of my work. At first, that was limited to carrying tubs of pottery over to them, having them select what they wanted and accepting a copy of a listing they made. Now, they want an "artist's statement."

I've never done one. They said, "Write something about your philosophy -- why you make pottery..."

After I got beyond my hangup that it is not appropriate for me to refer to myself as an "artist" (only others can bestow that title) I said, "OK. I can do that." Then I thought about it.

I love the Arts, and have for as long as I can remember. Back during high school when jocks were elevated to deity status and band members were geeks, I was in the band. From 7th grade through graduation my school offered one pitiful, half-year token art course and I took it. Art was never celebrated there. In fact, I'm not sure why they had any art at all. The men in the barber shop never discussed artists, but there was much talk about football players. I usually read the "National Geographic" or "Popular Mechanics" while awaiting my turn in the chair.

But now, many moons later, I have to write my own "artist's statement."

First, I read some that others have written. What a pile of crap! You'd almost think those pompous bastards were the only inhabitants on the Planet with intelligence. Words I have to look up; indecipherable, mindless artspeak bullshit most likely cribbed from some other equally-misfocused soul; sad yet arrogant pronouncements about what assholes human beings are or how malevolent my political or religious convictions must be. Where does this drivel come from?!

But fair is fair. If I can criticize yours, then you have the right to criticize mine. Here's what I came up with. Love to hear your comments:

Artist’s Statement
When asked why I am a potter I always have to debate myself over which answer to give. One expresses my need to “make things” – something that has been with me for my entire adult lifetime and something I can neither understand nor explain. In this answer I also need to explain the continuum between my education in Architecture and the Arts followed by a career that forced me to spend my life doing things that were neither natural nor interesting. Finally, in answer #1 I need to explain my avocational background in sculpting and how pottery is a form of sculpture, relying on surfaces, curves, forms and other components to define space. And I always feel as though I've omitted something important if I don't comment on my teen years, roaming the North Alabama hills and forests accompanied only by my dog and my shotgun.

I rarely use answer #1 because it is far too complex for the average person to tolerate.

Instead, I use answer #2: I make pottery because it makes me feel incredibly good.

Ceramics offers wonderful opportunities to use “schoolhouse” knowledge I believed I would never need. It also lets me indulge my need to implement random ideas; it encourages indulging passing obsessions and experimentation with color, texture, form, mass, line, surface and so on without the fear of failure; it is a perfect venue for conquering many different skills. It rewards hard work with tangible results. All of these are amazingly gratifying. I make my pottery to satisfy myself, and am incredibly gratified when someone else likes it. It causes a sense of connection with others and it leads to real, tangible connections with others. I make pottery because it makes me feel good.

I make no lofty “statements” with my pottery. Those seeking comments on the environment, social order, politics or the “destructive nature of humankind” will have to look elsewhere. What I do communicate with my work is my satisfaction with what I have produced at a specific point in time. It comes from within me. I do not know how it got there. Yesterday, I was not this accomplished. Tomorrow, I will do much better.

* * *

Creative Industries Delivers

Just when I had about decided my CI wheel was a lemon -- and I would have to learn to live with it -- Creative Industries surprised me with a new replacement, and model upgrade to boot! I have to say this was a noble gesture, and my hat's off to them for going the extra distance.
No doubt, my original Clayboss had its share of problems, and its uncertainties were beginning to get to me. However, to be fair about this, CI did try in good faith to remedy the situation. I honestly believe both of us were the victims of a bad run of luck. Even with its problems, it seemed to me the wheel was substantial and well constructed -- well worth its price under better circumstances. I never believed the company produces shoddy products -- I only wished I had not gotten what was most likely the year's jinxed unit.
I still have not had the time to put the new wheel through its paces the way I want to. But I certainly have used it and I can honestly say I am very pleased. Plenty of power, smooth control, a solid and substantial feel -- no doubt it is a very decent potter's wheel and I look forward to running much clay over it.
I once purchased a very popular kitchen mixer, specifically for kneading bread dough. You all know the brand -- starts with a "K" and has another name starting with "A." I didn't just pop in an appliance store and buy it, I researched which model I needed based in large part on the company's own literature and recommendations. Two weeks after bringing it home it stripped a gear in its drive mechanism. Their customer service rep -- I believe they were called "customer care consultants" -- reluctantly agreed to replace the machine, but only after chastizing me for "kneading the dough far too long." She told me no bread dough should be kneaded for more than four minutes, which is absurd. She also told me she considered the failure to be the result of "customer abuse" and was so noting that in my "record." Finally, she said that because it was "customer abuse" that caused the failure, they would not be replacing the new one they were sending me, in the event it also failed. Then, just to show me who was in charge, they sent me a model with less power than the one I purchased originally -- and it was a "factory refurbish" like the reboxed items you buy at discount outlet malls -- not the premium model I bought in a department store.
I was so incensed at their arrogance I ended up in a conversation with the president of the company, who finally agreed to "buy back" the mixer and all of the accessories I had purchased for it. Since it happened ten years ago I have probably told this story to a hundred people face-to-face. I am sure I will continue telling it, and to this day I would not knowingly buy any product that company makes or sells, no matter how good their reviews and marketing might be.
All of this to underscore the difference between them and Creative Industries. Any company can ship a defective product. Even NASA has done that. It's what they do about it when it happens that counts. In my opinion Creative Industries deserves accolades for handling this glitch with professionalism, ethics and an eye to the long term.
I'll buy from them again. Bet on it...

Maybe It's Not CI's Fault?...

Just when I thought my Clayboss problems were going away a new glitch appeared. Actually, it's been there for awhile, but I thought it was nothing. Now it's much worse, and I had to contact CI yet again for resolution.
Now, a ratcheting noise comes from beneath the wheel head. Its frequency and loudness are proportionate to wheel speed. At first it was barely noticeable. Now it sounds like wheel failure is certain. I called CI.
This time I was able to speak directly with their tech guy. He seems well informed and knowledgeable on the hardware, and has always been eager to assist. I described the problem, then held the phone by the wheel so he could hear for himself. He immediately said they would ship out a complete replacement wheel, and I could send the defective one back to them. That was last week. I understand it is en route now.
I'm not too happy about having to lug another wheel down to my basement from the driveway, lug the old one back up from the basement to the driveway and try and pack it all back into the box for shipment back to Creative Industries. I also have to admit I'm wondering if the replacement will come with a defective controller and pedal, or if it will have the new version, or if it will come with yet another "surprise."
But to be honest, I know how things can sometimes go bad in spite of every one's best intentions. I was once in the retail business. It can be a godawful backwater of frustration and the Peter Principle. Occasionally a customer got what seemed to be a "jinxed" product. When it happened, regardless how hard we tried to make it right, something else would go wrong. Maybe that's what I have here. Maybe it's just Jinxed. Creative Industries has nothing to gain by sending me defective products, and I don't believe they did that intentionally. We'll see how it goes from here. I will definitely report results.
At this point the hassle factor has far exceeded the price benefit I thought I was getting with the less expensive CI wheel. Now, I'd spend the extra bucks for something else in a New York minute if I could. I just want a wheel that lets me focus on clay for a change...

Clayboss Resolution? Well, Sort Of...

In my last Clayboss status update I mentioned the problem (failure to reduce the wheel's speed beyond 20 rpm or so when the pedal goes to the shutoff position) is diminishing with use. In the last episode, a person at Creative Industries told me to open the (new, replacement) controller box (like I had to do with the original) and make sure a potentiomenter inside is at its minimum position. I assume they must have an ongoing problem with their controller boards.
She asked me to call her and report status.
After I did what she asked, I didn't have the time to really test it out. Later, after I used the wheel for a while, it was back the same as before. I called CI again and reported it. This time I had a kind of "indirect conversation" with their technical guy. Instead of letting me speak directly to him, the customer service gal held the phone, asked me questions, shouted my answers to him and then relayed his comments back to me. After several minutes of this she told me "We will talk about this and decide what we're going to do. We'll call you tomorrow and let you know."
That was last Thursday. Today is the following Wednesday. I have heard nothing from them.
But there is GOOD NEWS! The problem has continued to diminish with use. From the outset this seemed more like a mechanical problem with the pedal assembly than an electrical one with the controller board. It has definitely gotten better. Yesterday, it only happened once in about three hours.
The truth is, I've had enough of the back-and-forth with Creative Industries. They win! We've had the Clayboss since July. It didn't work right when we got it. It's now the middle of September, and it still isn't completely right. If they really wanted to remedy the problem, by now they would have found a way. Instead, I am still screwing around down on my hands and knees on a concrete floor with little screwdrivers replacing their faulty parts and trying to troubleshoot their faulty product and having endless telephone discussions with CI's people about something they apparently don't have a fix for! We thought we were purchasing a fully functioning potter's wheel -- one that worked right out of the box. That's what we paid for. What we got is a new maintenance/repair project.
Now -- fortunately for me, and no thanks to them -- the problem has diminished on its own to a point where I can probably live with it if I have to. If I am lucky, it will eventually go away completely, but that's a crapshot I have to take unless I want to continue the tap dance with CI. Frankly I do not want to have to pack the wheel up, lug it up from the basement and send it back. This has been a lesson well learned...
Would I buy another Creative Industries wheel?
Probably not. I've learned too much...

Clayboss Status

As I use the wheel, it seems that the intermittent shutoff problem might be improving on its own. At first, every third or fourth time I tried to stop the wheel it continued at a slow, even speed. Now, it seems the frequency is decreasing. Maybe it will fix itself!
Yesterday, I needed to speak with Creative Industries regarding the return of their defective controller. They sent a UPS return label, but in our very small town the only UPS "terminal" I could find is a drop box at Popeye's Fried Chicken. Of course, the package containing the controller wouldn't fit the drop box, so I called CI to ask for instructions. After working that out I told them about the new intermittent problem.
The lady I spoke with told me to go into the controller box and make sure the minimum speed potentiometer is, in fact, at its minimum position. This is the same thing they told me to do with the other, original problem. So, it was back down on my knees with a screwdriver for the third time. Not being as young as I once was, I don't enjoy futzing with gear as much as I used to, but I tried it. The pot was already at its minimum position -- the same as it was when I tried it before on the old one.
I didn't have time to test it beyond turning it on and off a few times, and the problem did not show up. Last night I did work with it for an hour or more, and although much diminished, the problem remains.
To their credit, the person I spoke with at CI called early in the evening to inquire. That was before I had used the wheel for actual throwing, and at that point the problem had not reappeared. She asked me to keep her posted, and I will call her later today when they open.
At this point I'm hoping the problem will turn out to be a "break-in" issue that will go away with use. I'm sure CI has no interest in sending out yet another controller and pedal if it isn't necessary, and I have no interest in getting down on all fours in a very tight space once again to install it. I'm willing to give it some time.
No complaints about Creative Industries and how they are handling this now. I believe they want to get it right, and when it is working, I have no complaints about the wheel itself. It seems solid, with enough power to do the job.
More to come...

Clayboss Update

Here's where we are:
Creative Industries sent the replacement controller assembly out and I received it last week. I exchanged it, installing the new one on our Clayboss. Now the flutter problem is gone. Unfortunately, the replacement brought its own new problem. Now, about every third time, when the pedal is moved to the stop position the wheel continues to rotate slowly and evenly.
I can stop it by accelerating to a higher speed, then returning to the full stop position. At first, I almost decided to just ignore it and charge it off to experience. I figured I could live with it. However, after throwing for several hours today, I decided it is too much to accept. I called Creative Industries this afternoon.
The person I have been working with was out. I left a message, and am waiting to hear from him now.
More to come...

The Blue Funk is GONE!

It came;
now, gone.

Yellow light streams into this void
objects materialize for others to judge
I move on.

How -- and why -- is mystery
...and will most likely remain so.