I have been gently reminded that the one member of my family I forgot to thank the other day was my son, Doug. Thank you, Doug.
A lot of people amaze me, and both my children amaze me, but let me focus on Doug for a few minutes. The kid discovered clay (as in pottery) three years ago during my big summer retail craft show. He came along to help, which, since he was 8 at the time, mostly involved a lot of request for soft drinks. He was turned over to the fair operations manager and given a number of thankless tasks the older kids knew better than to volunteer for. To his credit, he complained to me but not to the manager, who thought he was great. But by day 4 of this 9-day show, Doug disappeared.
I was worried til I found him planted in the NH Potters Guild tent. He had discovered Tim Christensen-Kirby, a full-time potter (he and his wife Theresa are Muddy Bird Pottery) who was demonstrating the rest of the week. Doug had fallen head over heels in love with Tim and the clay. Tim in turn was quite taken with Doug, showing extreme patience and appreciation, eventually even letting him actually dig into the clay and create some pieces. He was also intrigued with him, finding in Doug the child he had been years ago. In subsequent conversations with Tim, I grew to understand my little "man of few words" child a bit better.
For the next two summers, August meant a week spent in constant company with Tim. Doug graduated to sculptures, tiles and pinch pots, and eventually throwing pots on a wheel. Along the way he met other members of the Guild who showed up to volunteer. They were enchanted with Doug, spent lots of time taking him under their wing, advising him and making little pots and sculptures for him (for which I will always be grateful).
This year, Doug didn't get to spend as much time with Tim during the show. Tim had inadvertantly made other commitments, but more importantly, Doug was appearing with his own work in a special booth at the show, The Next Generation. Here children of juried members of the League of NH Craftsmen are allowed to display and sell their own work. And Doug was selling his pottery.
With the help and advice of Tim and some of his fellow Guild members, I had bought Doug a good wheel. I already had a small jewelry kiln which was sufficient to fire a few small pots. We'd hooked up with a former student/apprentice of Tim's, Shana Brautigan and her husband, Ethan Hamby of Rooted in Clay, who gave Doug lessons once a month. By the time the LNHC fair had rolled around again, Doug had developed a small body of work, an artist's bio display, hangtags for each pot, and....wait for it...a mailing list. He would like to have postcards made with a photo of one of his pots, so he can let people know if he does any craft shows this fall.
So my life in craft has done more than just opened doors and windows in MY head and heart and life. It's doing the same with Doug. We've found a unique arena to meet in. We can now talk about his craft, and things like product development, price points, mailing lists, display and price lists. We talk about balancing the work that makes money with the work you love. We talk about how to show his appreciation to the people who have been so generous in their time and energy with him. Tim has shared some insights into some of Doug's odder behavior (which makes perfect sense once you gain some understanding of his thinking process) so I've been able to understand my little guy better. And because of a bag of clay and a wheel in the back hallway, I get to see a wonderful glimpse of the man to come in the years ahead.
Thank you, Tim and Theresa (Tim's other half, a very wise and wonderful half.) And thank you, Doug.
