[Clayart] mel's collection to amoca/primer

[mel jacobson]

i have been buying, trading, gifting and getting gifts of pots
for over 60 years. i have kept them all, treated them with great
\respect and then decided they needed a quality home, and then
able to become a part of a museums permanent collection.

as with my wife going into a nursing home, i made sure i was
getting quality advice and then follow it.

david armstrong is one of the finest, most generous and
knowledgeable professionals in the clay world.  amoca is his baby.

i called him and sought his advice.
he is a good friend, and we have worked together on some
major projects.

the pitfalls.\
1. major auction houses...southerby. etc
you are taxed at 60%.  if it is a bad auction
day you may loose half your value, then taxed on that.
big gamble.

private buyers./  you still have to report taxes.  at 60%.
and those negotiations can be daunting.

i have a vast collection.  hamada, kawai, arakawa and a dozen other japanese
potters.  i have antique asian.  i have hare's fur..the real stuff.
and, many of my own making of hare's fur.  the museum already has the bulk
of the hare's fur study.

many wild, lou, ferguson, mackinnel, and that goes on and on.
lots of chawan.  some very classical 60's stuff.  mackenzie, an entire
set of dishes.

i also sent all of may saved pots from 1960 to present. the cream of my work.

it is all going.  going to empty the house.  all of it.  every pot.
my family has what they want.
it is the right thing to do.
it is safe, it will not be sold in garage sales.

this is how i packed it.
i had about twenty old plastic tubs with tight covers, and some
older coleman coolers.  i boxed each pot with bubble wrap lining.
stacked them all in the tubs.  big pots had small pots inside.
all double boxes, and bubble wrapped and taped shut.

i ordered a wooden container. smartbox, as they are not so big.
the tubs were stacked....then i nailed a plywood wall to make them
tight.  stacked more tubs and boxes, nailed a plywood wall.

a huge ferguson container went in an old suitcase...wrapped with blankets.
it is easy to stack the plastic tubs...they fit together like legos.

each pot has a mailing label, very sticky attached to the glazed part.
they will not come off without goo off, careful removal.  no pot will
lose its identity.   for example...kurt wild, 1980's, river falls wisconsin, usa
it all comes from my label machine, computer.  it keeps score.

the container is sent to amoca.
they will inventory the entire collection.
it will be priced at retail.  that total figure
will be sent to the irs with david's signature
from the museum. i can do with that whatever i want.
take small deduction over the next years...whatever.
what matters is that the entire collection is saved in a
marvelous museum forever.

 the fear of vandals in my home
is real.  kids tearing up the house, whatever. (we go to the farm
a great deal now...sometimes two weeks at a time)  no worries now.
a remote idea, but it does happen.  fire, tornado, storm...are all
real.  i have been lucky...now take charge.  sleep better.
mel


website: www.melpots.com