specialists

“Akin to the idea that time is money is the concept, less spoken by as commonly assumed, that we may be adequately represented by money. The giving of money has thus become our characteristic virtue. But to give is not to do. The money is given in lieu of action, thought, care, time. And it is no remedy for the fragmentation of character and consciousness that is the consequence of specialization.....  Most important, even if we could give enough to overbalance the official and corporate misuse of our money, we would still not solve the problem: the willingness to be represented by money involves a submission to the modern divisions of character and community. The remedy safeguards the disease.”
― Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture

I've been reading this book by Wendell Berry, sometimes he can get kinda wordy, but the section where he starts talking about specialists really caught my attention.

Sometimes I am self-conscience because I feel I try to do too many different things. Perhaps I'm not specialist enough. I think maybe if I tried to focus on one thing it would be truly good.

Berry reminds me that "the problem with the specialists system is that it produces specialists". I quickly realized we have plenty of specialists.

I can't imagine doing only one thing. Or go to a job where at the end of the day I'm trying to accomplish only one goal i.e.-sales, production, ? clients, customers.... you get the point?

Our entire education system has subscribed to the specialist system and I believe it is brainwashing our students into thinking that when they grow up, in order to be successful, need to become some sort of specialist.

Berry goes onto say that a specialists can't even entertain themselves, they have to hire (at a hefty price) a specialist for that!

This is a new painting influenced by the book.

flashback

I was looking through an old portfolio today and this storage jar caught my attention.

I realized I made it almost 3 years ago and I can't remember what I drew on the other side, all I got to remember it by is the upright gorilla, which for one reason or another I deemed the front. I sold it not long after this photo was taken, so I didn't get very long to live with it.

I like the proportions of this pot: the skinny foot, the inflated belly, the quiet lid and knob. The black engobe stripes and the flashing from the soda vapors came out pretty muted, but to me somehow everything works.

I think it is good to revisit work you have done to reflect. It helps as you go forward.

Baby Love

Babies getting some milk-love

Where is your food protein grown?

I should make a disclaimer that this photograph has not been manipulated in any way. Above are two 1 1/4" thick cut T-bones and below are the complimentary 3/4" center cut pork chops. Lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. The quality and texture of this meat is the best I have ever eaten.

Do you know where your food protein comes from? Did you know that 54% of the worlds pork is grown in China? and 20% of the worlds beef is grown in Brazil?

How many miles does your food have on it from field to fork? Have you ever imagined dipping your food in a 5 gallon bucket of diesel before you eat it?

I challenge you to try and figure out where your food was grown... you may be surprised to find it was grown where a thick jungle once was deep in South America, or maybe Korea, Mexico, or Argentina. Or maybe a combination of several countries! Then try and figure out if it has traveled more than you have this year.

If you go to the Dallas Farmer's Market this saturday and come to Shed #1 you can buy some food protein that was grown in Sulphur Bluff, Texas, USA.

Unrolling

Round hay bales are rolled up in late springtime like dry grass cinnamon rolls. That is, 1200# grass flavored cinnamon rolls.

To feed out I unroll the hay for the cattle during the winter season.

There are several advantages to unrolling hay vs. putting it in a hay ring or barn feeding, etc.

It is good because you can run any class or size of animal all together. This way the bigger bully animals won't hog all the feedstuff.

One hay bale stretches out to about the length of a football field.

There is very little waste.

I can monitor exactly how much hay I am feeding.

I unroll in different sections of the paddock every day and it acts as a secondary fertility program for the soil.

It reduces pugging (see summertime pug wash).

The animals line up and I can do a thorough daily inspection of body condition/health/pregnancy development.

Digging Deep

Can you dig deep? How often do you find yourself digging deep?

Is it a nervous feeling? numbness? bleary eyes? rock-n-roll? fight or flight? Never give up?

Does it kinda hurt? Do you like it anyways?

Is it psychological or physical? or both? usually both.

Now here is a lip-smackin', reflective thinkin', near-do-weller, close to honest as I can get observation.

Trying to farm and trying to make art creates opportunities where you gotta dig deep.

It's not saying, "well, that's good enough".

When you feel like quitting, just crank down and max it out.

I get excited when I see someone maxing it out.

Art, Craft, and Cattle

summertime pug wash

The herd is doing well.

When summer fully sets in the grass and the ground hardens a little so you can graze smaller pastures.

In springtime when you have a lot of young, soft plants you don't want to graze them very hard so you move the cows around in considerably larger pastures being careful not to overgraze. The ground is also softer and if you get a big gully washer flood you get a lot of 'pugging' where these 1000# beasts compact the soil.

Pugging is a bad thing for the grazier, and a necessity for the potter.

The potter must pug or wedge his clay to make it uniform, remove air pockets, and compress it. The grazier wants to avoid pugging because quality soil needs to be more open to grow more forage.

Eggs & Legs

It is difficult to decide the most enjoyable part of a chicken.

Sometimes I'm an eggs guy, but most of the time I am more of a legs guy.

Herd Quitter

Herd mentality can be a beautiful thing (when relating to a herd). Everyone is safer from predators, there is harmony, and everyone seems socially satisfied. Life is generally easier for an active and engaged member of the herd.

However, when humans develop a herd mentality and start saying, thinking, and doing the same things creativity is often diluted, innovation is compromised, and distinctiveness is lost.  The dangerous thing that people need to be aware of is how easy it is to join the herd. Quitting the herd mentality takes a little work, but can be quite fulfilling.

Introducing #17

Even though cattle are very social animals, you can usually pick a couple out of a mob that don't always stay with the herd. Some are a little less common, a little uglier, a little prettier, there is something special about them. While everyone else is french braiding amongst each other, sorting themselves the only way they know how with their distinctively bovine compass, No. 17 is looking at the ground. Almost like she is trying to decide which blade of grass she is going to ruminate next.

I feel like No. 17 is going to be a special girl.

I intend to follow her a little closer than the rest of the herd, update her status on here with photos and comments. I think I can learn something from her.

She is a 487# portable sauerkraut vat. She thinks she may be ready to get pregnant sometime in June, waiting for the right fella to come a long - nothing long term. By then she should be about 650-700#.


I intend to keep her for a while, hopefully getting several calves from her. No doubt No. 17 will be all over the pastures for the next several years, eating grass and keeping to herself. She will be on the pastures and on the pottery.

Revealing

I have been noticing recently how the food we eat relates to the pottery it is in.

Particularly how food can conceal, reveal, accentuate, or detract from the overall design of the work. There is always a dance going on between the pottery and the food whether you like it or not.

It is time based performance art!

Love

Montgomery, AL.

she fed me

Strictly Functional 2011!

Simmons potter will be "Bowling" into The Strictly Functional Pottery National Exhibit this year in PA!

The letter I got said there were over 800 entries and 110 were accepted! One was mine!

Notice all of exclamations? I'm so excited!

Below is the piece I got accepted. This years juror was Mary Barringer. Thanks, Mary.

Feeder

The Gump

Donkey Mug.

1949

Crib modification.

Here's a little shop talk. Melissa and I inherited a crib that my Memaw and Papa bought new from Sears in 1949 for their firstborn. Since then it has comforted over 10 children in the family. Along with a rich heritage, it had a few loose screws/bent parts, and a lot of the vertical wooden gate posts were very loose.

I wood-glued and clamped the gates so they were solid again. Then I took out the old springs and parts that once let the gates go up and down and snap into place at 5 different adjustments.

How did I fix the gates? I couldn't let them slide up and down freely on the rods, I mean we are talking precious little fingers and toes.

Set screws people, set screws. Set screws hold the world together, and with a simple allen head wrench the gates on this bed are infinitely adjustable. My friend Jon suggested that I drill a little hole in the allen wrench and run a chain through it and attach it to the bed frame for the baby to play with. Not a bad idea.

One thing I like about things that were built in 1949 is that you can work on them. There is no plastic or clippy things on this bed, it's all wood and metal and it's American Made.

Texas

Melissa got a week off from work so we are visiting family in Texas this week. First stop was in Atlanta, TX with the Simmons side, now we are in Sulphur Bluff with the Lamborn side. This is a pick from the ranch, the cows are very happy.

Tip Please! (vol. 1)

I have decided to semi-regularly give un-solicited tips to artists and potters alike. These tips are probably going to be sarcastic or funny. I love it when people give me tips, so heres some tips of my own.

Tip #1:

Don't talk about the inherent qualities of the materials you use.