Sunday, February 5, 2012
Big Pot Mania
I must admit to a slight case of Big Pot Mania this week. It usually hits after I see Doug Fitch post pictures of recent work or after I have made a few dozen bowls or plates. It also is a good project for mixed reclaim clay because these don't need to match anything else. These are done with thick wet stacked cylinders then rethrown. They are about 12 to 15 lbs each. As a final step, I have been inflating them with a small shop vac set on blow. Works like a charm but don't over do it or the jugs can burst. I showed you the first one in my last post but here are a couple of more. The last one is my favorite but all 3 suit me pretty well.I also included a bisque load of stoneware that I fired this week.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
One by One
This is a blogger inspired post. Doug Fitch was talking about needing to make big pots the other day.Linda Starr was talking about going tall this morning. Michael Kline has his 12 by 12 challenge. I combined all these into my 1by 1 challenge for myself. Yes, that's one pot by one o'clock. Remember, I'm actually retired.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Pollo con Espinacas y Queso
Chicken with spinach and cheese is a quick delicious dinner. I cut up some onion and a piece of rotisserie chicken then put them in a skillet with a little butter or oil. Cover and cook for five minutes or so. When the onion is tender and starting to brown stuff as much baby spinach into the skillet as you can and put the lid back on.After a minute or two toss the spinach with some tongs and put the cover on until the spinach is all wilted. Remove from heat and sprinkle a little cheese on top.Cover while you find a plate and the cheese will melt before you get back.Season to taste and enjoy.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Thankless Task
Dear Readers,
What follows is a draft of a letter or op ed piece I am working on. I would love to have your comments, thoughts, and additions.
Every organization I have ever belonged to has the same problem. Not enough volunteers to hold club offices, chair events and and do the hands on grunt work that keeps a group running. The same 10 to 20% of the group are always the only people that will commit to doing anything and they are tired and on the verge of burnout. Why is this so pervasive and what do we do about it?
Expectations guide our choices.The basis of behavioral science is that people tend to repeat tasks that are pleasurable and avoid those that are unpleasant. If we hear people talking about how difficult their job is and saying they will never do it again,we choose not to put ourselves in their shoes.If we do something once and don't enjoy it or don't feel needed and included, we don't repeat it. If we hear people talking about how much fun they have, we are inclined to join them.If we know other members are inflexible we may not wish to work with them.
Uncertainty keeps people on the sidelines. What will the duties be and how much time will it take are questions that need to be answered up front. How many meetings and how far from home are they? Are the requirements streamlined and actually necessary or are they just the way things were done last year? How married are we to the way things have been done before? What features of the event are actually written in stone and which ones are flexible?
Will volunteers actually have responsibility or will every decision they make be reviewed and debated ? In most cases a board needs to know if an event is on time, on budget, and if there are unmet needs. They don't need to know what color the tablecloths will be and how that was decided. Meetings should have agendas based on these simple standards that actually delegate decisions and accept that committees can change things to suit their best judgement. This would cut meeting times considerably.
Everyone needs to recognize that events planned and executed by volunteers will never be perfect and that you can't have everything the way you want it. Accept that people are tired and stressed and may act that way. What really makes a task thankless is people that don't remember to say thanks to the folks who do the work. If what they did was not all you thought it could have been, thank them anyway, they showed up and made the effort.
Finally, we all need to lighten up and relax a little. We generally join with groups of like minded people to have fun, not to pad our resume or prepare to run for office. If things stop being fun we need to make them fun again or stop doing them. Like voting, if you don't volunteer don't complain about those who do.
What follows is a draft of a letter or op ed piece I am working on. I would love to have your comments, thoughts, and additions.
Every organization I have ever belonged to has the same problem. Not enough volunteers to hold club offices, chair events and and do the hands on grunt work that keeps a group running. The same 10 to 20% of the group are always the only people that will commit to doing anything and they are tired and on the verge of burnout. Why is this so pervasive and what do we do about it?
Expectations guide our choices.The basis of behavioral science is that people tend to repeat tasks that are pleasurable and avoid those that are unpleasant. If we hear people talking about how difficult their job is and saying they will never do it again,we choose not to put ourselves in their shoes.If we do something once and don't enjoy it or don't feel needed and included, we don't repeat it. If we hear people talking about how much fun they have, we are inclined to join them.If we know other members are inflexible we may not wish to work with them.
Uncertainty keeps people on the sidelines. What will the duties be and how much time will it take are questions that need to be answered up front. How many meetings and how far from home are they? Are the requirements streamlined and actually necessary or are they just the way things were done last year? How married are we to the way things have been done before? What features of the event are actually written in stone and which ones are flexible?
Will volunteers actually have responsibility or will every decision they make be reviewed and debated ? In most cases a board needs to know if an event is on time, on budget, and if there are unmet needs. They don't need to know what color the tablecloths will be and how that was decided. Meetings should have agendas based on these simple standards that actually delegate decisions and accept that committees can change things to suit their best judgement. This would cut meeting times considerably.
Everyone needs to recognize that events planned and executed by volunteers will never be perfect and that you can't have everything the way you want it. Accept that people are tired and stressed and may act that way. What really makes a task thankless is people that don't remember to say thanks to the folks who do the work. If what they did was not all you thought it could have been, thank them anyway, they showed up and made the effort.
Finally, we all need to lighten up and relax a little. We generally join with groups of like minded people to have fun, not to pad our resume or prepare to run for office. If things stop being fun we need to make them fun again or stop doing them. Like voting, if you don't volunteer don't complain about those who do.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
WHY?
In the last week I have seen posts like" Why I Blog" and "Because I Blog" and numerous insightful comments from readers across the globe. I feel that these topics have been pretty well covered and will try to confine my response to " Why You Should Blog".
You can be anyone you want. In reality, I am 35, slim, rich and irresistible to women. This persona of a 61 year old overweight balding guy is just to keep the groupies away. Those beautiful pottery shots? You can just cut and paste from the web. Who would know? Want some respect? Just talk about the great sales you have at shows . Sympathy and advice? Tell everyone you don't sell anything. Artsy elite? Just say you would never think of selling anything until after your death.Simple simple simple and you know it's true.
Since I have been doing this I have become friends with a couple of potters from the U.K. who seemingly raid museums at night and take pictures of pots to post on the web and claim as their own. There is a potter in North Carolina who posts video and audio clips of her "daughter" singing and playing guitar. I know nobody's kid could sound that good. Must be a download from some star's web site. No other explanation.There is a woman near Asheville who makes hundreds of test tiles, shares the "results" then cooks a gourmet dinner. Would anyone really do that? There is a woman who supposedly came from Australia to go to the same workshop 3 times in the States and take pictures to share for free on her blog. Unbelievable! She's probably from Pittsburgh. These are the kind of realities you can create if you have a blog.
That's one version. Another version is that if you blog you will inevitably meet the most generous amazingly talented people you will ever know. Some you will eventually get to know in person. Some will remain pen pals. All will add to the richness of your life. I have met people from all over the world through our little online community. I love to open up my comments and find one in Portuguese or Spanish. You will become part of a community that openly shares their hopes, dreams, joys and disappointments. You will have help solving what ever problem is on your front burner, be it pottery, kids, or a recipe. Every now and then, you might even vent a little bit about what bugs you or rant about the government. It's ok. If you are not sure you want to dive in head first, you can start joining in the conversation by clicking on the word "comments" at the end of this post and adding your 2 cents. As always, thanks for stopping by.
You can be anyone you want. In reality, I am 35, slim, rich and irresistible to women. This persona of a 61 year old overweight balding guy is just to keep the groupies away. Those beautiful pottery shots? You can just cut and paste from the web. Who would know? Want some respect? Just talk about the great sales you have at shows . Sympathy and advice? Tell everyone you don't sell anything. Artsy elite? Just say you would never think of selling anything until after your death.Simple simple simple and you know it's true.
Since I have been doing this I have become friends with a couple of potters from the U.K. who seemingly raid museums at night and take pictures of pots to post on the web and claim as their own. There is a potter in North Carolina who posts video and audio clips of her "daughter" singing and playing guitar. I know nobody's kid could sound that good. Must be a download from some star's web site. No other explanation.There is a woman near Asheville who makes hundreds of test tiles, shares the "results" then cooks a gourmet dinner. Would anyone really do that? There is a woman who supposedly came from Australia to go to the same workshop 3 times in the States and take pictures to share for free on her blog. Unbelievable! She's probably from Pittsburgh. These are the kind of realities you can create if you have a blog.
That's one version. Another version is that if you blog you will inevitably meet the most generous amazingly talented people you will ever know. Some you will eventually get to know in person. Some will remain pen pals. All will add to the richness of your life. I have met people from all over the world through our little online community. I love to open up my comments and find one in Portuguese or Spanish. You will become part of a community that openly shares their hopes, dreams, joys and disappointments. You will have help solving what ever problem is on your front burner, be it pottery, kids, or a recipe. Every now and then, you might even vent a little bit about what bugs you or rant about the government. It's ok. If you are not sure you want to dive in head first, you can start joining in the conversation by clicking on the word "comments" at the end of this post and adding your 2 cents. As always, thanks for stopping by.
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