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Theory of Making | Barbara Murphy | Episode 1167
Barbara Murphy | Episode 1167
Barbara Murphy is a Canadian potter and owner of Alchemy Clay Studio. Barabara is a maker specializing in small batch original pots for use.
SPONSORS
You can help support the show!
GRPotteryForms.com
diamondcoretools.com
Number 1 brand in America for a reason. Skutt.com
For all your ceramic needs go to Georgies.com
Do you have a philosophy of pottery?
I’d say it is a fundamental, mindful craft. When people discover it, they discover an area that takes up much of their mind and their monkey mind disappears. It is almost like meditation. I didn’t know that for myself at the time I was doing it. I was just wanted to keep going back. And as I have progressed through this and I have taught and I have seen people with very intense jobs come in and need to do it and understanding why they need to do it more than I do, because my life is pretty great actually. So I never really had to escape from my life, but I know that there are people who do and they do it.
Is there a theory that you have in approaching say a mug… what makes a mug good?
I’m going to quote two people: Pete Pinnell, Linda Christianson. Make it rough enough that people pay attention to what they’re drinking. Enjoy your tea; don’t just mindlessly drink it. Be present to have your tea. And then Pete was the handle, the lip, the whole body. The mug is the most intimate thing you’re ever going to make, because people approach their morning to a mug and they are at their most vulnerable point of their day. So make it good!
Is there a time of day when a person should say, this is when I am at my best and that they should therefore be making during that time?
I don’t think it matters. It could be 10 at night ’til midnight. But as you age, and I am up there, I’m 75, my best hours of the day for production or making or for art, for expression… is between 11 and 3. I get up really early and I like to read and do Wordle with my son and my grandson, we do that. And I’m having my coffee and my lemon water and I like to take two hours to wake up and just be. I look out my windows and see my trees and the birds or whatever. And then I’m a maker so I’m doing my beets and pickles in the early morning and then I go to the studio and I make pots, load kilns… whatever needs to be done. I say 11 to 3 because that’s what I commit to, but it could be 4.
Is it true that anyone can learn how to be a potter?
It’s a teachable craft. It’s a learnable craft. That’s all I’m going to say.
Have you ever met a student that you thought, This may not be for this person?
No. And I’ve taught a lot of people. What I have found is that people are so self-critical. I had one person, brilliant person, that I had to blindfold so that they could get a lift of clay through the whole process. Don’t look. Don’t judge. Just feel it. And now she’s potting.
If someone wants to be a good potter, a good maker, what is one thing they should know?
Don’t quit. Don’t quit. There are so many talented people, but if you quit, it doesn’t matter.
Book
Functional Pottery by Robin Hopper
Contact
alchemyclaystudios.com
Instagram: @alchemyclaystudios
View all episodes
By Show Notes – The Potters CastBarbara Murphy | Episode 1167
Barbara Murphy is a Canadian potter and owner of Alchemy Clay Studio. Barabara is a maker specializing in small batch original pots for use.
SPONSORS
You can help support the show!
GRPotteryForms.com
diamondcoretools.com
Number 1 brand in America for a reason. Skutt.com
For all your ceramic needs go to Georgies.com
Do you have a philosophy of pottery?
I’d say it is a fundamental, mindful craft. When people discover it, they discover an area that takes up much of their mind and their monkey mind disappears. It is almost like meditation. I didn’t know that for myself at the time I was doing it. I was just wanted to keep going back. And as I have progressed through this and I have taught and I have seen people with very intense jobs come in and need to do it and understanding why they need to do it more than I do, because my life is pretty great actually. So I never really had to escape from my life, but I know that there are people who do and they do it.
Is there a theory that you have in approaching say a mug… what makes a mug good?
I’m going to quote two people: Pete Pinnell, Linda Christianson. Make it rough enough that people pay attention to what they’re drinking. Enjoy your tea; don’t just mindlessly drink it. Be present to have your tea. And then Pete was the handle, the lip, the whole body. The mug is the most intimate thing you’re ever going to make, because people approach their morning to a mug and they are at their most vulnerable point of their day. So make it good!
Is there a time of day when a person should say, this is when I am at my best and that they should therefore be making during that time?
I don’t think it matters. It could be 10 at night ’til midnight. But as you age, and I am up there, I’m 75, my best hours of the day for production or making or for art, for expression… is between 11 and 3. I get up really early and I like to read and do Wordle with my son and my grandson, we do that. And I’m having my coffee and my lemon water and I like to take two hours to wake up and just be. I look out my windows and see my trees and the birds or whatever. And then I’m a maker so I’m doing my beets and pickles in the early morning and then I go to the studio and I make pots, load kilns… whatever needs to be done. I say 11 to 3 because that’s what I commit to, but it could be 4.
Is it true that anyone can learn how to be a potter?
It’s a teachable craft. It’s a learnable craft. That’s all I’m going to say.
Have you ever met a student that you thought, This may not be for this person?
No. And I’ve taught a lot of people. What I have found is that people are so self-critical. I had one person, brilliant person, that I had to blindfold so that they could get a lift of clay through the whole process. Don’t look. Don’t judge. Just feel it. And now she’s potting.
If someone wants to be a good potter, a good maker, what is one thing they should know?
Don’t quit. Don’t quit. There are so many talented people, but if you quit, it doesn’t matter.
Book
Functional Pottery by Robin Hopper
Contact
alchemyclaystudios.com
Instagram: @alchemyclaystudios