Dearest reader,

I cannot say that I am an artist, but I can say that I am a potter.

I learned how to throw on the wheel around when I was eleven, and have been doing so ever scine. I went to school for ceramics. I attended workshops. I went to NCECA in Tampa. All these things I have done, and I feel they make me a potter.

Why do I consider myself a potter, and not an artist? Well, I feel that pottery is mainly a skill. A creative skill and one that can be stretched conceptually as far as any other medium, but really at base a skill that anyone can learn. Pottery is a mundane thing, after all. Our plates and cups have been made from clay for centuries and today handmade pottery is making a comeback as the household china of choice.

To me, being a potter but not an artist is not a contradiction. I have struggled long to become competent in technique in clay, but my concepts are lacking. I feel that because of this, I am not an artist in that area.

I make pots. You can use them everyday. They may not be beautiful, but they do what they are meant to do.

This opens up the whole can of worms concerning what is 'art' and what is 'craft.' I feel like maybe one of those terms is an umbrella term. I would say that 'art' covers everything done to expand another persons world by beauty, truth, insult, or confusion. then 'craft' would be things done with more utilitarian prupose. the quiet objects that continue to please day after day. 'Fine art' would be to me the traditional arts-painting and sculpture- the arts that have been around the longest.

But, as with any artist, dearest reader, my mind changes on a whim.

In the sprit of being a potter, I sketch pots and bowls and vessels constantly. I hope you do not get bored!

Yours, the artist

A vase for Thursday

A tea bowl for Friday