No-bitch Zone

Working on pots in the Guild studio is an escape for me. My refuge. Where I go to seek solace. I get behind a wheel with a big hunk of clay, and anything is possible. At least I thought so.

But during the spring term, a former co-worker who attends the Monday-morning class started showing up for lab days (Wednesdays and Saturdays). At first, everything was fine. But then she started redirecting me.

"It would be easier if you smoothed out your glaze over by the sink," she'd say.

"You're not supposed to put stain on the bottom of your pot," she would scold. When I told her that my instructor said it was OK, she said hers told her it wasn't, and hers had been a potter for a very, very, very long time. Besides, she used to hire my instructor to teach classes, she said, suggesting that she knew better than I that he was not on par with her instructor. She argued that although my instructor had advised that it was OK, every potter is different, which would suggest that there's no wrong way to finish a pot, but I inferred from her statement that my instructor was wrong because her instructor took a different approach. I ignored her and spoke with my instructor the following Monday, who showed me how I could get around the concerns.

Another time, I was looking at another potter's bowl. My former co-worker asked, "Is that your pot?" as if I should not have anything to do with another potter's ware.

And so it continues with this individual.

The final straw was last Wednesday. After parking her car, she approached me to say that she was going to park between my car and the car next to mine but that there wasn't enough room for hers to fit. She was criticizing me for not leaving enough room for her car, yet I'd arrived first and parked next to a wide utility vehicle. That vehicle left, and two students — a couple who share a ride — arrived and parked where it was, though it didn't require as much space. The following Saturday, the couple commented about how this individual constantly rides my ass. The wife said my former co-worker is also quite rude in the glaze room, bumping into her without apologizing, and acting as though she's the only one in there.

So I have decided that I would say something to her the next time she got in my face. Here's my speech:

"What makes you think it's OK to instruct me? Redirect me? Criticize everything I do? Tell me my instructor is wrong or isn't as good as yours? Blame me for things I have absolutely nothing to do with, like not leaving you enough room to park your vehicle? I come here to relax and enjoy the company and camaraderie of others who share a common interest in ceramic arts. You're ruining this for me, and I do not give you permission to do that. If you don't have anything kind or constructive to say, please just shut the hell up."

Clay Station

Clay Station: Skutt Thomas Stuart wheel with SSX upgrade; leg extensions. Speedball chair, and clay reclamation bin.

Can I just say, I love my Skutt Thomas Stuart potters' wheel? It is a powerful but whisper-quiet wheel that makes throwing clay an amazing experience. I've got mine set up in our dining room for now. Together with my comfy Speedball Institutional Student Potters Stool (ST4), which adjusts up and down with the touch of a lever, I have a phenomenal clay station. A blue recycle bin, covered by a white kitchen garbage bag, sits nearby and serves as a clay-reclamation center. I always have a 5-gallon bucket with about a gallon of water nearby and a sponge to rinse my hands and keep my work area clean. Today I threw four mugs and a couple of large bowls.

My summer 2015 instructor is Wade MacDonald. His classroom format is different compared to instructors from prior terms in that he has specific assignments for us (students) to ensure skill development. Class started June 15, 2015. Our first lesson was to make cups with handles — two coffee mugs, and two cups. I ended up making four teabowls, because that's what I am most accustomed to making. I don't drink coffee, so I had little interest in coffee cups, but I am interested in mastering this skill.

Summer 2015 Term Instructor Wade MacDonald.

Class 2 (June 22) required us to throw two bowls — a 2 lb. and a 5 lb. bowl. Wade's bowls flared and sat upon a small foot base. Mine were the shape of the yarn bowls I'd been throwing. And the 5 pounder was lopsided. I tried to throw another in my Wednesday lab, but as the lip flared out, it got off center. Bleh.

In today's Saturday lab, I pulled six handles and tried to attach them to my cups. My bowls were still too wet to trim. The handles I pulled were awful. They were thicker on the right side than the left, and they really didn't fit my teabowls. But I attached them anyway, and they look terrible. So I went home and decided to start all over. I threw four 1.25 lb. balls of clay into awesome cups. If I can pull some decent handles and attach them, that would demonstrate some real growth for me. Yeah, I'm excited.

I also threw two bowls. A nicely flared bowl from about 3.40 lbs. of clay. Another, slightly more than 4 lbs., got off center again, and while I was able to fix it, the flare opened up too wide and then started to collapse further outward. to correct this problem, I pinched sections of the pot's lip. Tomorrow, I'll try to smooth it out a bit.

Four mug bodies waiting for handles and two large bowls, all thrown Saturday, June 27, 2015. The mugs are 1.25 lbs. each.. The smaller bowl in the back was thrown from 3.38 lbs. of clay; the larger bowl in the foreground was about 4 lbs. of clay.

The cool thing about clay is that all of it can be recycled, and the clay can be used over and over and over again to create what I want. I love my clay station. I love pottery. <3>

Brushstrokes of Genius

My former instructor, Eldon Clark, has a deer-tail brush that he let me borrow in my second term at the Potters' Guild. It was such a cool brush, capable of making swooshes and wooshes, and swirls and whirls. An outstanding brush for sumi-e or calligraphy.

I'd been scouring the Internet since, hoping to find the same brush, but to no avail. Finally, I asked him this past Wednesday (June 24, 2015) when I saw him at the studio where he acquired it. He rattled through his many boxes of supplies but couldn't find it. Then his eyes lit up as he remembered he had yet another awesome brush — also constructed from deer-tail. He produced a bright yellow brush on a bamboo shaft. It was dry and quite bushy. He dipped it in water, and the brush immediately formed a beautiful, long, tapered tip.

"It's handmade," he beamed, "and you won't find a better brush."

He fetched a Tupperware full of cobalt slip from an overhead shelf, dragged the brush through it, and painted the countertop to demonstrate its full range of capabilities. I was mesmerized by the lines he was able to produce. Fat ribbons that seamlessly tapered off into thin lines. He then made a series of birds in flight by laying the brush flat and, with a quick flick of the wrist, pull the brush upward so that the fat little brush stroke sprouted wings.

I asked him where he acquired such a lovely brush. He couldn't remember who he bought it from ... only that it was a potter from North Carolina who was married to another potter who'd conducted a workshop at the Guildsome time ago. He went to a nearby shelf, produced a bisqued pot and turned it over. "S. Lindsay," the potter had written to leave her mark. "Her name was Susie," Eldon said. He couldn't remember how she spelled it.

When I got home, I googled "Suzie Lindsay potter North Carolina." Jackpot!

My search query resulted in Suze Lindsay and Kent McLaughlin at Fork Mountain Pottery (http://www.forkmountainpottery.net/).

I sent Kent an email, telling him about my conversation with Eldon. I inquired about his prized brushes, options and pricing. I specifically asked about the possibility of purchasing a small and large brush. He responded the following day to let me know that the small brush is $12, the large one is $20, and shipping is $6. "Send me a check for $38, and you're all set," he wrote.

Need I say, the check is in the mail?

Deer-tail ceramics glaze brushes. I love the long, tapered point of this brush. I am purchasing a small and large brush like the two shown on the far left. I cannot wait to receive these, but I guess I have no choice. The black bamboo handle third from the left is my favorite handle. Fact: McLaughlin grows his own bamboo, which he then uses to make handles for his brushes.

Bison

When I started my first term as a student at the Greater Lansing Potters' Guild last fall, I received a student handbook from the registrar, which included instructions for purchasing required tools and supplies. One of the tools was a trimming loop.

But somehow I ended up starting class without a loop. Yup, I was loopless, which caused me some anxiety. I hemmed and hawed about what I would purchase. Somehow, I ended up with a brand-new circular Kemper loop that I never used, nor have I any memory of purchasing, begging for, borrowing or stealing it. It does a piss-poor job of trimming, so I do not want it.

Next, I dropped quite a bit of coin on three Xiem Tungsten Carbide trimming tools — two small loops and one cutting tool. They came with these fat silicon handles, and I'm sure they were great, but one rolled off the work table and fell on the concrete floor at the studio and broke. I never even had a chance to try it out. Another broke when I washed it in my porcelain sink. And the third tool — a triangle trimmer — gouged my bat and resides out of sight on a shelf in my closet.

Clearly, pursuing the perfect trimming tool was going to be a challenge. I started doing some research online and stumbled upon a post from "Pottery Blog" by Emily Murphy:

http://potteryblog.com/2008/07/tool-review-bison-trimming-tools/

Soon after, in November 2014, I got in touch with Phil Poburka of Bison Studio, in Las Vegas, Nevada (http://www.bisonstudios.com/). At his recommendation, I ordered Trimming Loop A at three-quarter size for $65, plus $8 for shipping. Like the Xiem, this loop is constructed from tungsten carbide, but O.M.G. The Bison trims like a dream!

Bison Trimming Loop A

In January 2015, I ordered a second trimming tool — the Miniature Loop Narrow C — much smaller but equally well-made for detail work.

Bison Miniature Loop C

Last month, just as I started throwing larger pots with some proficiency, I ordered a Heavy Duty Trimming Loop B, as well as a new Needle Tool. After a few weeks, they appeared in my mailbox this past Wednesday (June 24, 2015). The needle tool is exceptionally fine, which is exactly what I'd hoped for. It cuts through clay like it's nobody else's business, and as you can see from the photo below, it is gorgeous. I haven't yet taken B for a spin, but it's a beauty, and I cannot wait to put her to the test. I'm going to call her "My Bitch."

Top: Bison Needle Tool. Bottom: Heavy Duty Loop B

I cannot wait to acquire my fifth ... and any subsequent Bison tools. I don't know yet what they'll be, and I probably don't even need any more at this time, but they are beautiful instruments — they feel great in my hand, they make easy work of leather-hard clay, and they're second to none, so I may not be able to resist picking up another and another and another.

To eliminate any ambiguity, I highly recommend Phil Poburka's Bison Studio tools. Any and all of them.

Throwing Mud

For years, I'd been thinking about signing up for pottery classes at the Greater Lansing Potters Guild. Finally, I applied in August 2014, for the Fall 2014 term. When I received my acceptance letter, I was as thrilled as I'd been when I was accepted at Central Michigan University for my undergraduate degree and Michigan State for my master's.

Greater Lansing Potters' Guild fall 2014 acceptance letter.

I started my first class Sept. 15, 2014. Jim Reinert was my instructor, and Keith Bassar was the class assistant.

While it was intimidating and quite difficult to master, I knew I had to be patient and vowed that I'd be OK with not being immediately proficient at wedging, centering, pulling, trimming and glazing. Jim was encouraging and patient. He was enormously helpful, and I learned so much from him— primarily that if I kept practicing, I would soon become proficient.

I fell in love with the craft. Before my first term ended Nov. 17, I registered for the Winter 2015 term (Jan. 5 - March 9). But my second semester wouldn't start for 7 weeks. I was afraid that I'd lose what skills I'd gained during my first 10 weeks, so I purchased a wheel — a Skutt-Thomas Stuart Professional. It was a beauty with an emerald-green basin and a gleaming chrome wheel head.

Semester 2 was taught by Eldon Clark. Charlie Seeburg was the class assistant. Eldon is an outstanding potter. He's in his 80s and his thoughts come to him slowly; oftentimes in fragments. He trailed off in the middle of a sentence and confused words, but he gave me more insight into pot construction than you could hope for in a term. He helped me appreciate the pot-building process and to look at each of mine with a critical eye.

Here I am at the end of my third term, back with Jim Reinert and this time, Deb Cole — the Guild's newest member. Jim is a long-time studio potter and Deb, it turns out, is the wife of my graduate assistantship employer and former chair of Michigan State University's College of Communication Arts & Sciences' Advertising, Public Relations and Retailing program. Small world.

But back to my pursuit of happiness.

I am obsessed with this art form. Below are the few pots that survived my first term.

Short and Fat 2014. Vase in segar blue over Jackie's celadon.

Fluted 2014. Vase in segar blue, rimmed with No. 6 Opax.

Textured Rim 2014. Bowl with segar blue interior and rim/angel eyes exterior.

Perfect Imperfection 2014. Bowl.

Thursdays With Frank E.

In mid-April, I met with Michigan's former attorney general, Frank J. Kelley, to accept an offer to collaborate on a "book deal." A mutual friend, Larry Glazer, arranged for the meeting at the Okemos Big Boy, just off I-96. In fact, it was Larry who'd recommended me for the job.

He and I go back to my days as a custom publications editor at the Lansing State Journal. I desperately needed writers for a variety of local niche products, and a colleague, Meredith Sharp, recommended her father – Larry. She was herself an award-winning and well-read pop-culture writer and designer for "The Source," and I had enormous respect for her work. As a courtesy, I called her dad. I learned that he had recently retired and was looking to do some writing. I agreed to give him a trial assignment. If he hit the mark, I'd run the story; if not, we would amicably part ways.

He delivered, of course, and for what seemed too fleeting a period, he would pick up additional assignments here and there, always articulate, thorough, interesting, timely. When he informed me in an e-mail that he'd accepted a technical-writing assignment, I wasn't surprised, but I was sorry to lose him.

Months later, I asked Meredith to write a cover story for Greater Lansing Woman about local PR professional Kelly Rossman-McKinney. Kelly was a long-time family friend, Meredith said, and that's when a lightbulb went off and I realized that Larry was the Larry Glazer, i.e., Judge Lawrence Glazer, who for 15 years was an Ingham County circuit judge. He had also served as special counsel and legal adviser to Governor James Blanchard (1983 – 1987).

We kept in touch over the few years that passed, mostly by e-mail. Then, in 2006, I had the pleasure of meeting him face to face when he presided over a mutual friend's wedding. I had since left the LSJ. In fact, on Friday, June 30, 2006, Meredith and I both left the paper to pursue bigger and better opportunities. Larry's smile was wide, and he quickly offered a warm handshake, audibly affirming – mosty for his own benefit, I think – that I was his "very first editor." I knew then that our friendship was all the more special to him because of that fact.

Late last year, Larry asked me to preview a manuscript for a biography he was writing about former Michigan Governor John B. Swainson (1925 – 1994). Currently, the Michigan State University Press is reviewing it, and publication is expected by early 2010.

Late last year, I received an intriguing e-mail from him, with the word "Turnabout" in the subject line.

"I would like to seek your advice on a literary project," he wrote. "Frank Kelley, who served as Attorney General of Michigan for 37 years, is a close friend of mine. He wants to publish his autobiograpy, in which he'd asked me to help him find a collaborator."

He concluded his message with this question: "Would you yourself be interested?"

Kelley holds the record as the longest-running attorney general in the United States, and his 37-year career earned him the nickname "Eternal General."

Additional conversations ensued, including a call from the general himself. He was in Florida for the winter and would return at the end of March, after which he wanted to meet to discuss the project. Our meeting culminated in an agreement – signed and sealed by both Mr. Kelley and me that warm April afternoon.

Each Thursday evening since I've met with the distinguished 84-year-old Kelley at his residence in Haslett. On the rare occasions when our schedules conflict we meet on a different weeknight or twice the following week.

We begin with a review of our progress from the previous week, after which we'll get right to it: He'll dictate and then stop to ask, "How's that?" or "What do you think?" or "Is that OK?" I make recommendations, ask for clarification, and make edits to a draft manuscript. After about three hours, our meetings generally conclude with a new plan of action for the following week.

But my favorite part of the meeting occurs just before I leave, because he seems to want to take a few moments to get better acquainted with his "associate," as he refers to me. He speaks very candidly, and shows a genuine interest in me, often asking about my day at work or inquiring about my family. He tells me jokes, shows me photos of or news clippings about old friends, and he very often talks about his beloved father, who he desperately misses. He frequently invites me to enjoy a candy fruit slice, which more often than not can be found at the center of the dining room table where we work.

"They don't have any calories," he beams as he pops one into his mouth and savors every sticky bite.

By his own admission, Kelley has lived a rich and satisfying life. And yet, he still manages to enjoy its simpler pleasures. Each Thursday night, on the drive home from our meeting, I hope my life will be as remarkable and worthy.

"We Dare You" Video

It was late fall, if memory serves, when I first met with a group of student telecasters from Michigan State University's College of Communication Arts & Sciences.

Andrea Kovac, the college's alumni relations coordinator, recruited Ryan Alloway, an energetic and intelligent senior who, were the telecasters an actual corporation, might have been its executive producer. He pulled together a talented team, comprising a cameraman (David Cooper), editor (Ryan Hurst), and director (Veronica Jackson). Anson Mulville and Nick Tootalian worked to ensure quality sound, lighting, and whatever else goes into the myriad complexities of video production.

Most of them graduated this past spring, which left Hurst to wrap things up on his own. To say that his work was admirable would be an understatement. He gave up much of his summer to finalize our project, and though we'd gone through multiple revisions, he was steadfast and an absolute joy to work with. Mark my words, these guys and gal are going places. Why, they've even got Hollywood-style names to match their talent.

Oh, and I almost failed to mention, they did it all for free.

My job, for which I was eminently unqualified, was casting. But how hard could it be, really? It would be a cinch to get MSU's movers and shakers in a video – all of whom were sure to give testimonials for how their degrees or affiliation with MSU had contributed, at least in part, to who they are, the dreams they've fulfilled, their jobs, and the paths upon which they walk today.

So I pursued those at MSU whose names and profiles were sure to result in a successful messaging campaign. But we were repeatedly told that Tom Izzo, Mark Dantonio, and Suzy Merchant were busy with recruits, donors, practices, meetings, games and the demands of the media, not to mention their own families' needs.

Not a problem, I thought. Besides, Michigan State University has a lot more going for it than athletics alone, which is the whole point of the "We Dare You" message.

And yet, the academicians weren't returning my calls either, nor were they responding to my e-mails, though that, too, was forgivable, since some of them – Dr. Andy Amalfitano, for example, who is doing amazing things in microbiology and molecular genetics – were busy conducting research and saving the world.

Clearly, I had a problem on my hands. Was there no one available to issue our dare to Michigan State University's 460,000-plus alumni?

It was my alumni association colleague, Tim Bograkos, along with his pal, Kaleb Thornhill, MSU psych student and Gran Torino actress Choua Kue, MSU mascot Sparty, and College of Music assistant professor, jazz singer and international recording artist Sunny Wilkinson who came through for me by agreeing to tell our story.

Speaking of which, the purpose of the video is to promote the MSU Alumni Association's value to alumni and friends. Our message, as told by our friends, highlights that which makes MSU so great: athletics, academics, arts, culture, students. It's about everything we, as Spartans, have to be proud of, and everything that makes our connection to MSU, including membership in our alumni association, so important.

But I don't need to tell you about it. Check it out for yourself!



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Laurie Robison is director of marketing and membership at the Michigan State University Alumni Association. There, she overseas the acquisition and retention of members. She is an alum of MSU, having earned a master of arts in public relations in 2007. Her blog, Ramen Noodles, serves as a personal journal through which she periodically shares her observations, opinions and insights.