Horse trading

One of the things I find most amusing / fascinating about my ceramics buddies is how everyone has completely different tastes and styles. Now while that may sound obvious, it can be demonstrated more viscerally in several different ways.

For example, a sample of different potters' works at one studio I frequent gives a small idea of what I mean. (I will have to scan in some other samples to give you an even broader range so you REALLY see what I mean.)

Unsurprisingly, this occasionally leads to some spontaneous horse trading, when one person finds their finished, glazed work just viscerally revolting, while another one is "oooh-ing" and "aaah-ing" with admiration over the very same piece(s).

This happened twice to me, albeit on opposite ends of the transaction, once a few years ago and then again last month.

One bowl (I think -- or maybe it was a vase -- this was quite a while ago) came out of its second firing (the glaze firing occurs after the wet clay is first fired into bisqueware, similar to terracotta) and I immediately disliked it. A LOT. I can't even remember what combination of glazes it was, but I knew I'd never want to use it, or even want to give it as a formal present. Meanwhile, one pal (whose work is for sale here) thought it was great. I promptly gifted it to her.

Last month, the reverse occured to another pal, who found a particular shade of grey-blue revolting, whereas I admired the glaze mix tremndously. Guess who wound up with a pair of FABULOUS mugs? :-D (Noriko, one of the associate artists, was very jealous. Heh.) Plus, these are my favorite size: very large, holding 16 ounces of liquid each!

It's all a matter of perspective, kind of like these electric pottery wheels, turned on their sides. I thought they were turbines or something at first (!) but then I realized that no, they were simply moved aside, prior to the December holiday sow and sale.

And it's funny, because frequently, the hated objects are not intrinsically ugly (as these mugs certainly demonstrate) but rather, just not what was intended by the creator.

I joked with Diana, the mugs' maker, that it was like an adoption, where I immediately gave the mugs a loving home, even though they were rejected at birth. She promptly replied that it was not going to be an open adoption, so I was not to fear that she would come seeking them out years later, and in fact never wanted to see them again. Heh.

My pottery buddies crack me up sometimes. ;)