My life... as an artist.

'Ello!

This is my second blog to be created in a two month span. The first blog I have deals with my profession, what I get paid for. This blog will be about my passion, and what I hope to one day be my profession.

Ceramics. Pottery. Ceramic Arts. I want to be an Artist. I want to be recognized, I want to be awed at. I want to be remembered.

I was first introduced to ceramics at the age of 14 when I was first brought to a local ceramic studio titled the Art Studio, Inc. I have since spent 10 years in and out of the place, hanging out with friends, doing community service, band performances, art openings, etc. The one thing I never picked up though, was ceramics.

I started attending college right after graduating and knew I had to be an artist. My parents didn't quite understand it but were enthralled that I was going into computer art since I spent so much time on the computer. The department has a poor poor program dealing with graphic design and I changed over to sculpture a few years later. That was a bad choice. I took my first Ceramics class in the spring of 2007 from an amazing professor. 30 years of experience teaching ceramics to middle school students, and 5 years of college teaching at that point. He has a great method of teaching and looks at everyone with a smile and isn't afraid to share a laugh here and there with everyone.

Since I first took that class, I became obsessed with ceramics. By the time the first semester was over with, I was ready for the next to begin. To me, my passion comes when I am on the wheel. I have a strong love for symmetry which is partially why I love classical art as well as renaissance art. Getting on the wheel and learning how to produce symmetrical pottery was great to me. I could make bowls! I loved it. The moment I realized I had something going was when I spent one night and pumped out 12 bowls in a row. It was my first time to do a small production run and it felt great. Sadly this was at the end of the semester and I didn't get to do that again until after the summer was over.

My second semester I learned a lot more. I got more confident on my ability to make bowls and began to go into production mode. At this time, I was planning on opening a booth at a renaissance festival that was in production. I produced close to 100 items of substantial size plus about 200 pendants/charms. But alas, the festival fell through due to corrupt land owners and disorganization. The semester ended and voila, we have winter break. Thankfully the winter break was only a few weeks, as in I couldn't wait to get back to ceramics.

This time though, there was a glitch in my plan. Undergraduate thesis. Remember earlier how I said I switched from Graphic Design to Studio Sculpture? Have I mentioned jack shit about sculpture yet? No? That's because I didn't have the passion, I didn't have the drive nor want. Now, the kicker- I was to do a THESIS in Sculpture. What? Yea, exactly. I took on a new medium that semester, fiberglass. I got a concept rolling and quickly learned that I hated it and that I was going no where fast. I ended up getting an incomplete in the semester due to the generosity of my faculty committee and was told to finish this coming fall, the next semester.

Well, I've decided since then that it is definitely not what I want to do. I have since dropped thesis and am in the process of switching majors to Studio Ceramics. My school only offers up to Ceramics III, which I am retaking the comming semester. That makes the tally 3 ceramics, 2 sculpture. So it makes sense that I move to a degree in something I feel passionate about.

I would love to become a production pottery but more-so I would love to become a ceramic artist. There are drastic differences between the two in alot of peoples eyes. To me, the passion comes from creating something from dirt. Creating something from something so old and so forgotten and over looked. Ceramics have been a constant factor in humanity for thousands of years and has held such a prominent place in human society that it has become rather overlooked as an artform.

I have great aspirations. I have great ideas, concepts, plans. I want to make something of myself, and I want to change a few lives in the process.

As I keep going, I will post resources that help me, videos, links, etc. I will also post updates on projects I have going and look forward to possibly having people read this.

As a great man once said, but not nearly in the same context (not to do him a disjustice...) but..

I have a dream.