this is getting spooky...

[Mike Minto]

i've recently looked at 3 very nice turnings by 3 different folks here (most recently baxter smith's really nice 'pot of gold') and am struck by the similarities between them, and the 3 latest pieces i've started. the other's obviously were started - and finished - before mine, but i didn't see them until after i'd started the things i'm working on. right now the ones i'm talking about are in my closet, rough turned and drying; will post them in a couple of months and reference this post when i do. wierd.

[John Keeton]

'Tis the work of the wee leprechaun's!!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Mike I think that you would be surprised at how similar tastes in shapes are. At the Symposium a couple of years ago in the gallery they had displayed it amazed me at how similar some of the turnings were and when talking with most of these people they didn't even know one another.

[Mark Hubl]

Mike,

I, like many, try and find my inspiration in the ancient stuff. I like going to the museum and studying the Egyptian and Native North American pottery. Man has been making pottery for a long time. The interesting thing is that cultures that could in no way know what the other was doing made similar shapes.

It would seem we are wired to make certain shapes whether we have been influenced by something we have seen or not. I just think some things come naturally. In studying the well known artisans in this craft I find they make similar shapes to others and the ancients. Many use techniques and symbols that have been around since the dawn of time.

I am no artist, the true artists set them selves apart with outstanding creativity and technique. For others like me, it's about learning techniques, finding a comfort zone and then execution. I think a lot of artisans find a "comfort zone" and then focus on their execution. They then make outstanding craft that becomes their signature pieces.