[Clayart] february blues

[vincepitelka at gmail.com]

Hi Mel - 
I'm very sorry to hear about the kiln shed roofs.  Hopefully the repairs will not be too costly or complicated once the snow melts.  As you know, I am from California, and I have talked to quite a few friends and relatives on the West Coast who had trouble with flooding and water damage, or with heavy snow buildup.  You got what was left of the same storms, tempered by passing over large mountain ranges, but still very powerful - the "atmospheric river."  

I certainly understand about the therapeutic effect of sitting at the computer writing.  I have done a lot of that myself.  I have often wished I had spent more time asking each of my parents about their childhood, their adolescence, what it was like for them in high school and college, how they met, what it was like when my siblings and I were very young, how they felt about the evolution of their careers.  While they are alive, it is easy to take them for granted, thinking that they will always be there.  And then they are gone.  

So, what you are doing is proactive.  Getting all that information down, so that your grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc., will have that information.  I wish more people would do that.  

All my life I've had a fascination for the Westward Movement, the California Gold Rush, and the growth of railroads, mining, and logging in the West.  I have read so many books that are based on exactly what you are doing.  Someone took the time to collect all their letters, or wrote about their own experience, and someone later on recognized the importance of it and assembled it into a published book.  What seems like casual communication, or therapeutic autobiographical journaling, can become priceless history in a hundred years - "The Mel Jacobson Papers."
- Vince

Vince Pitelka
Potter, Writer, Teacher
Chapel Hill, NC
vpitelka at dtccom.net
www.vincepitelka.com 
https://chathamartistsguild.org/ 

-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart <clayart-bounces at lists.clayartworld.com> On Behalf Of mel jacobson
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2023 10:08 PM
To: clay art <clayart at lists.clayartworld.com>
Subject: [Clayart] february blues

It is that time again. it was -26F this morning. all of my ceramic, pottery equipment is frozen solid. we have had so much snow that three of our kiln covers have cracked rafters and are falling in. No  kilns hurt.  I did put some 3/4 inch pipe from concrete floor to rafters above my small stoneware.
It does help the blues crash in on me.  But, it is winter and things happen. I am snug in my house, and all is well. And we are a bit concerned about flooding this spring. My house is 12 feet above the flood plain. No worries for me.

I am full go in a new book.(about a hundred hours) the title is: "Letters to Colleen".
the books direction is all the stories and adventures I have had in my life and have chatted with Colleen about, she has done the same and her stories are included. About 70% of the book is clay related. The book is not going to be for sale. Most of my older pals on clayart know the stories already.

This book is electronic and will be put away for my GreatGreatGrandson to read when he is 35. His name is Melvin. A brand new "good" thumb drive, wrapped in water proof plastic and at the bottom of my fireproof safe.

A great cure for the blues is sitting at a computer and writing your own story for your future family. it is the story of your life. And many forget that it is important. If nothing else, write the story of your clay life, how it started, how you love it. It will give future people a glimpse as to your value as an artist/craftsperson. Memorize that all the text messages and emails will be flushing down the electronic hole.

It is like saving some of your best work for your future family, not born yet.
They deserve to know you had great value and you were not marching down to the cliff with the lemmings in 2023.

You are part of that valued gang of men and women potters that goes back thousands of years..Those that solved the problems. Earth,Fire and Water. The clay vessel.
Love to all, mel


website: www.melpots.com
www.melpots.com/CLAYART.HTML