[Clayart] My journey
Phyllis Canupp via Clayart
acquiesced after her continual "loving" badgering. I hated it. I made an
oblong, shallow bowl on that first day. It had finger indentations and I
did not know how to correct it. This was through the local recreation
center in Virginia Beach. My teacher, Nancy Hendrix, was a loving and
wonderful person, however, I did not learn what I needed to know from her
instructions. She would tell her students, "just watch how I throw." I did
watch and was just mesmerized by her control over the clay. I struggled
mightily to throw a decent bowl. No luck. After that eight week session had
ended, I felt I had "lost" in the war with clay. So I went on my merry way
and didn't look back. Then, an amazing thing happened! I needed some
elective credits for my degree so I took a pottery class at the local
community college. James Chalkley was my instructor and he both
demonstrated throwing on the wheel and gave verbal instruction along with
the demo. Something clicked and I was able to make a halfway decent pot by
the end of that course. I went on to complete all the courses in ceramics
the college offered and when that was completed, I went in person to sign
up again. The registration lady asked, "why are you taking these classes
again, you already passed them." Little did she know that I had the "dirt
bug." However, having a 24-hour open studio plus reduction firing was a
great incentive.
After taking all the courses that were offered twice, I tried to take them
a third time but that wasn't allowed. So my husband (of 48 years now)
purchased a brand new Brent wheel and surprised me for our anniversary. I
continued classes through the original recreation center. My teacher,
Nancy, allowed me to make pots at home and bring them in for firing because
everything I made went to Empty Bowls--which was a very passionate cause
for her. In these rec center classes we dabbled in raku which I found
fascinating. I purchased raku clay but we fired raku only once a session. I
had a lot of raku clay left over so I made platters. Clay is clay--right?
After a year in my kitchen cabinet one of my platters had black mold on the
bottom. Yuck! So I surmised that all clay is not equal and delved into the
types of clay and the limitations of each. It is a constant learning curve.
Sometimes I am ahead of the curve but most of the time I'm lagging behind.
I learned what vitrification means. Yes, I had a great lesson on that.
I purchased many pottery books and subscribed to all the pottery magazines.
When my adult children asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day, Christmas,
or birthday, I would always give them a list of potters to choose from to
purchase a pot. A well meaning loved one tried to purchase a pot from our
own dear Mel just a couple of days before a holiday. So Mel says to her,
"you know it is just 2 days before the holiday? How long have you known
this holiday was coming up?" Uh, every year since the beginning of time. I
can just imagine Mel saying that.
Fast forward twenty years and I was diagnosed with a lung condition. It is
idiopathic so the cause is unknown. Although my pulmonary doctor told me
that I must stop working with clay due to the mold. I said, "well, just
shoot me now cause that ain't going to happen." I have to wear oxygen now
but I am still a very happy little clam making all the pots that I am able
to. About 4 years ago my husband and I moved to a semi-country area. We see
a lot of wildlife and life is good. I feed the critters and it is my life's
goal to have a bird come eat from my hand.
I brought an empty bowls event to my small town (August 22, 2025). A local
art center helped me and offered their facility as a venue. I pledged 100
bowls and made and donated over 120. We raised over $6000 for a local food
bank. YEAH!!!
I have ADD. I was tested and told that I do not have ADD but I understand
that I can hyperfocus on various tasks. I believe that due to this, I have
not yet found my way with clay. Sure I can throw a pretty decent large bowl
now but I have no direction. Carol, who posts her pictures of experiments
on ClayArt suggested reading, Berensohn's book "Finding one's way with
clay." I am working on that and perhaps I will find my way one day. I hope
it is very soon. I'm not getting any younger.
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