Monthly Archives: September 2013

Which art form is the most ‘perfect’ or most broadly expressive?

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Carter Gillies

A friend on facebook asked this question: “What do you think is the most “perfect” art form? Or what art form do you find the most broadly expressive?” My response was: “I have no idea what “perfect” means in this … Continue reading →

Posted in Art | 6 Comments

Target practice and other lessons for potters in the business of art

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Carter Gillies

. ““Art suffers the moment other people start paying for it,” Hugh MacLeod proclaimed in Ignore Everybody, echoing a prevalent cultural sentiment. And yet there’s something terribly disheartening and defeatist in the assumption that we’ve created a society in which … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Arts education, Ceramics, Creative industry, Creativity, metacognition, Pottery | 2 Comments

Getting the excess weight off your bottom and other pottery tips

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Carter Gillies

Heh, heh…. One of the classes I occasionally teach is called “Better bottoms” and the students usually get a smirk or two out of the associations with fitness, exercises, and such. Well, the truth is that if you take certain … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Ceramics, Clay, Pottery, Teaching | 19 Comments

The Persistence of Form

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Carter Gillies

“Sometimes the long way round is the best way home” Scott Cooper A few days ago a fellow potter and I were looking at pots in a local sale and inevitably we started picking up mugs to see how they … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Beauty, Ceramics, Clay, Creativity, Ephemera, Imagination, metacognition, Pottery, Teaching | 6 Comments

A few ideas for teachers of pottery and ceramics

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Carter Gillies

Recently I was asked to participate in a sharing of lessons and course syllabi between a handful of local(ish) past and present Georgia ceramics instructors. We’ve just gotten the ball rolling, but it seems like a great way of spreading … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Ceramics, Imagination, metacognition, Pottery, Teaching | Leave a comment

So, you want to be an Artist?

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Carter Gillies

. “Although some (aspiring artists) may have the ambition to be the next Jay-Z, or the next whatever, the number of those artists are very very small. And often the artists who are very successful that way, they don’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in Art | 5 Comments

Sustaining the creative groove

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Carter Gillies

I just had a wonderful surprise visit with fellow potter Michael Kline this weekend who was in town to see the Michael Simon exhibit “Pick of the kiln” at the Georgia Museum and to visit with our esteemed mutual pottery … Continue reading →

Posted in Art | 8 Comments