Author Archives: Carter Gillies

About Carter Gillies

I am an active potter and sometime pottery instructor who is fascinated by the philosophical side of making pots, teaching these skills, and issues of the artistic life in general. I seem to have a lot to say on this blog, but I don't insist that I'm right. I'm always trying to figure stuff out, and part of that involves admitting that I am almost always wrong in important ways. If you are up for it, please help me out by steering my thoughts in new and interesting directions. I always appreciate the challenge of learning what other people think.

Evidence based support for the arts

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Carter Gillies

The modern scientific framework explains things from cause to effect. Causes explain effects. Something happens as the result of something else. The tree grows from the seed. There are observable consequences. There are sequences of events, one following from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art | Leave a comment

Conversations about the limits of art as an instrument of value

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Carter Gillies

Ahoy Di!   I’m still plugging away at these issues we’ve talked about, maybe getting somewhere after all 😊   I think I understand that I may have been wasting much of my effort attempting to explain an alternative to instrumental … Continue reading →

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Sisyphus

Posted on November 10, 2018 by Carter Gillies

What I believed I was doing in my life before cancer: I had been thinking of the difference between a person with no imagination (surely a figment?) and people who read for fun, who make and look/listen at/to art, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Beauty, Creativity, Ephemera, Imagination | 1 Comment

Responding to Clay Lord

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Carter Gillies

Clay, you state “Knowing people prioritize core issue areas like education, job security, housing, public safety, and health and wellness, how do we show the important ways the arts intersect with their day-to-day lives?” and I wonder whether you feel … Continue reading →

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Theseus

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Carter Gillies

This is my comment to extend the conversation on that article I wrote for the Arts Professional blog. ——————————————– I think both responses thus far highlight exactly what is at stake in this conversation: To what extent are we willing … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Arts advocacy | 3 Comments

Dear Arts Council England, part 1: The culture of counting

Posted on September 23, 2018 by Carter Gillies

(This is the uncondensed version of an essay I wrote for Arts Professional UK. The limited space available there for my ideas painted only a partial glimpse of the argument I intend to make, but it was a sacrifice worth … Continue reading →

Posted in Art | 4 Comments

Dear Arts Council England, part 2: The idea of consistent quality

Posted on September 23, 2018 by Carter Gillies

(This is the second essay in my argument against the policy proposal of Arts Council England aimed at systematizing quality within the arts.) ——————————————– Arts Council England has expressed the intention of instituting a quality metrics based approach in gathering … Continue reading →

Posted in Art | 1 Comment

The difficult news……

Posted on June 18, 2018 by Carter Gillies

Okay, I don’t know how to say this the right way. There probably is no right way, and saying it is never going to be easy. Some of you may have heard, through us being friends on facebook or through … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

The potter’s place

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Carter Gillies

Something I had written a few years ago: “Being a potter isn’t a ‘job’. It’s being the nexus of a very special community that forms to create and sustain beauty in the humble corners of daily life. Every time you … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Beauty, Ceramics, Creative industry, Creativity, Imagination, Pottery | Leave a comment

Pottery sale this weekend (!)

Posted on May 30, 2017 by Carter Gillies

I am almost done glazing and firing for the sale this weekend at my studio! If the rain holds off today I will get the last load in and be able to start cleaning the studio (don’t want to kick … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Ceramics, Clay, Pottery | 3 Comments