Penland Pilgrimage

"She had a point.  A pilgrimage is not about punishment but

about making an intentional decision to look at the world

with fresh awareness and to consider your place in it. 

A pilgrim defines her own pilgrimage; 

maps are guidelines, not prison sentences."

from What the Psychic Told the Pilgram

by Jane Christmas

I have been researching pilgrimages lately.  I have the itch to challenge myself in some way that reveals a new aspect of the world I live in.  It's probably a sign of my age or my ceaseless curiosity but the whole idea appeals to me. So imagine my surprise when I recently realized that I had been on a pilgrimage and didn't even recognize it.

 Early morning mist at Penland School of Craft

I enrolled for a week at the Penland School of Craft in western North Carolina with my sister. She is developing a passion for pottery and while I don't "do" clay I thought it would be a fun week together learning new things.  I like to think I truly enjoy the process of exposure as I dabble in something out of my field.  I now know I am my own worst enemy when it comes to "dabbling".

 Penland offers so much: gorgeous scenery, experts and equipment in many fields, 3 meals a day, interesting fellow students, time to immerse yourself in learning...the list goes on to include yoga, late night chats, meditative walks and time to sit.  Somewhere I got hung up on the "subject immersion" part.  Without realizing it I found myself rushing through breakfast to get back to the studio to try, try, try again a technique that was totally foreign to me.  I inadvertently cut short my lunch break because the call of a failed piece was all I could hear.  And I would barely clean up for dinner as I was anxious to produce a credible copy of every demonstration we were privy to watch.

As the week went on I became more and more anxious that neither my quantity nor my quality was "measuring up."  The irony was that no one, except I, was doing any measuring.  The gal across from me took a week to make 3 pieces, the far more experienced potters behind me were crushing as many as they kept and the giggles from my sis as she broke pieces and parts were having no positive affect on my drive.  Head down, in a minute I'll be there I said, only to turn and find myself now alone in a darkened room.  Nose to the grindstone...for what?  In hindsight I have no answer.

Kiln opening is always a big deal: a reason to party and laugh and share the big reveal.  Our night was no exception.  Wine in hand we all prepared for the "really big shoe."

happy hands reach into the treasure trove of cooked pots

always a collective inhale as the lid is raised

 we gather our work and give it a closer look

I laid my treasures out at my work station and the grin slowly slid from my face.  "What in the world?" I wanted to say.  "I spent a week making this crap?"  Only to myself would I admit that 9/10ths of all I had attempted were fit for the garbage pile.  Suddenly I felt very, very tired.  Even the excitement of fellow students and their sincere attempts towards encouragement didn't lift my spirits.  And let me be honest: I was the first to admit that I had no idea what I was doing, just an interest in doing it.  What was I expecting?  And to what end?

I packed up my treasures that had now lost their luster and it was 3 weeks before I had an interest in unpacking them.  With time had come a kinder eye and I could see the things I had learned, the areas that failed and where some fun things had mistakenly happened.  Most did end up in the dumpster but I now called them "practice pieces" not "production pieces."  We had a good laugh.  Still...still...I knew there was more to this; processing takes time, mulling needs distance, analysis means stepping back.

the piece I kept - my pilgrim's token

I realize now that the purpose of my pilgrimage to Penland was not about pottery...it was about lifting my head up and partaking of all that is around me.  My lesson had very little to do with wet or dry clay slabs and everything to do with slowing down and breathing in the rarefied air that exists in such a place.  I coulda (shoulda, woulda) come home with one decent piece and enjoyed the yoga, taken long walks, lingered over dinner with the writer and visited the studio next door.  This epiphany was mind blowing and, in a funny way, comforting.  It's easy to espouse what we believe but so much harder to live it.  I wanted a quantitative bang for my buck and my time, I came back with a qualitative one.   

I know this doesn't sound much like an ART blog or even a decent PILGRIMAGE story.  But it was both for me.  Have you ever been on a pilgrimage that you didn't recognize as such?  Have you ever had to learn, the hard way, how to really live what you think (or pretend) to believe?  Please tell me I'm not the only one.

ALWAYS A PILGRIM,

Cindy  

Jane Peiser's Magical World of Clay

Jane Peiser is a legend at the Penland School of Crafts,

while on campus for a week I made it my mission to 

visit her studio; an unforgettable visit...

I hurried through breakfast so I could hike down the road towards Peisner's home and studio.  It was early morning and the sun was just topping the mountains as I rounded the bend towards her drive.

I slowed as I felt I was about to enter another world; partial proof on the tree stumps serving as pedestals for cracked or misfired art lining the walk, preparing visitors for Peisner's fantasy land.

In the quiet of the morning the rabbit hole beckoned,

revealing a visual advertisement/endorsement of area potters and their wares...

The sign on the door made the instructions clear....

Suddenly I was standing all alone in another world: the clay of Jane Peiser, self taught potter for over 45 years, master of the murrini style of building folk art scenes in colored clay, believer in the human spirit, a generous soul and lover of naturekind.

I carefully looked inside her delicate cups to see that the design, true to the murrini technique, went all the way through the clay.

I examined her tall vases and cups enjoying every bit of fantasy folk imagery and each detail of the carefully constructed clay canes.

I marveled at the range of stories and ideas she was able to convey with her designs and the addition of fun details such as flowers, hands, fingers and faces.

And I came across her most casual way of doing business, trusting that her collectors would respect the rules of sale.

 I was blown away.  I was in Jane's world with no one but her fantasy figures on a sunny mountain morning.  Only the birds saw me enter, it was magical and I realized I was holding my breath.

It was hard to select something for my own collection.  Jane is represented now at only one gallery, Ariel Gallery in Asheville, NC.  Time and age are taking their toll.  She is doing more rug hooking now and less clay construction.  I wanted a piece to remember this by.

 I made my selections, wrapped them up, calculated the tax and left a check next to this note:

I had phoned her the day before looking for a specific piece which she was not sure she had.  A ride back to school?  That's the kind of person she is.  I declined to ring as it was early and I cherished the walk back up the hill to process the world I had entered.  Slowly I closed the door and started my way out.

Would I regret this opportunity to meet a clay legend?  Probably yes.  But as much respect as she had for wanting to give me a lift, I too, had respect for her privacy at this early hour.

And besides, it is sort of within her magic world to leave to the imagination the kind of woman she must be. Some questions are better left unanswered.

And so I huffed my way back up the hill listening to the birds and slowly emerging from a land that only art and imagination can build.  I felt like Alice, leaving Wonderland, knowing my view had shifted slightly just for the visit.

Color Fully Yours,
Cindy

p.s. Please click on the blue colored words above to be lead to more information regarding Peiser, Penland and the work termed murrini.

Comfort or Curiosity Zone??

This is a followup to my previous blog

on leaving our "creative comfort zones."  With a nudge from

Elizabeth Gilbert we can also call them

"curiosity zones" a somewhat less intimidating phrase to refer to

our immersion in something totally new and different (to us).

I so enjoyed the many responses to my question about what you did this past week that was "out of your comfort zone."  Some of you admit that it was not a voluntary leave taking but that you found yourself out of your element and just relaxed into it.  Others were intentionally trying to engage with new people, try a new food or even jump into a new media.  Great!  and GOOD FOR YOU.

So I return once again to our visit to Penlands Open House for a story about Jaydan Moore:

We stumbled onto Jaydan's studio because he was surrounded by silver platters resembling many I had recently culled and given away, this piqued my curiosity.  We stayed because he was so engaging and enthusiastic and a walking advertisement for what leaving your "zone" can lead to.

Jaydan started his art career in jewelry and metal working.  He had a very prestigious job and could have (maybe?) lived happily ever after making award winning pieces for high end clientele.  But Jaydan's roots (his family was in the cemetery monument making business) had already left an impression on him about what happens to someones objects as they leave this world.  One of those objects being, ta-da, those myriad trays all daughters of my generation are divesting themselves of.

(for more fascinating work go to Jaydan's website here.)

Those trays?  This is only one of the iterations Jaydan has come up with for preserving an impression of the life they once led.  Printmaking?  Yes, he explained that cutting the metal was right up his alley of previous work, printing? not so much.  But never fear, as Jaydan began the slow and careful process of preparing the etched design to print (I imagine) that his brain began asking more what-ifs.  Like what if he cut off the unique bands or collars and used them, what if only certain parts were inked and combined with other printing methods, what if a beat up piece of silver could become a trophey of one's life.....he stepped out of his zone and entered an entirely new world of possibilities.

It doesn't hurt that Jayden is a handsome, witty, redheaded kid (relatively speaking) but just listening to him put all my motors into high gear.  There was no stopping his train of ideas once he started down this path of preserving/reusing/altering pieces which were once a cultural symbol and were now being discarded.  And yes, he is so very patient with the many questions that come up.

American Craft Magazine named him an emerging artist and he has a 3 year apprenticeship at Penland so Jaydan is well on his way to making a name for himself and his art.  Read more and watch his delightful short video here.

Sooooo, the short version of this wonderful story is that the world of art would have been so deprived of this original and authentic expression of Jaydan's regard for cultural iconology IF his mind had not wandered and his self confidence had not dared to play a bit.  I also imagine there were a few experiments that we will never see, some bumps in the road to speak, but no doubt Jaydan took notes and proceeded.  Thank goodness.

So keep dabbling, keep experimenting and don't let the walls of your comfort zone fence you in - so much is waiting to be discovered.

Curiously ColorFull,
Cindy

Creative Comfort Zones

Everyone I know has a "creative comfort zone."  They may not label it as such but it is an area in which they feel competent, know the buzz words, and gravitate towards naturally.  It may be work or play but it gives them a feeling of accomplishment and pride.  Can you name (one of) yours?

Now, not many of us intentionally leave that zone when it comes to choice of activities.  Why?  I imagine that its because in a world that continually makes us feel less than adequate we tend to spend all the time we can doing things that we know are well done.  But maybe if we labeled this leave taking something else?  Would we then venture forth more boldly?

I don't know.  Just wondering.  Please share.

Meanwhile, I got a chance to dabble outside of my comfort zone recently at the Penland School of Crafts Community Open House.  This well known campus opened its studios stocked with volunteers to give visitors a taste test of the skills it offers in workshops.  Youngsters, blue haired teens, parents and folks like me all gathered to try our hand at a variety of skills.

Each studio had a project pre-planned.  Here I am experiencing the feel of a loom.  Waaaay out of my zone as it involves feet, hands and an ability to chart patterns.  Thankfully we were only making coasters....(since there was no line behind me I got a little extra length on my coaster....soon to be a hanging.)  But I left with a new appreciation for weavers and their art.  I also left thinking about color and texture and bo-coo things I could apply to painting.

Let's try something new this week....something that holds a chance of failure, a sense of confusion, a bit of imbalance when compared to the place we usually like to hang.  A new taste, a different skill...I know I'm not the first to challenge you, but I'd love for you to share.

COLORFULLY Outside My Zone,
Cindy