Wednesday, October 31, 2012

What To Do? (42398A)

Oasis Amidst the Wasteland (42398A), 1998 

I have been getting lots of inquiries lately as to why my writing about these platters has dropped off recently. There is a short answer and a long one.
The short answer is that I don't have it in me to write more at the moment.

The long answer is harder. It takes time for me to shape. And it hurts.

These platters came into being at a time in my life when I was finishing grad school in Utah. I felt like my whole life was in front of me. I was starting to apply for professorships all over the country. My daughter was almost two and a half years old. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Yep, it was a train. At some point I will try to put into words what that train wreck was like. At this point, the part that matters most is the emotional content these platters still carry for me. I can't see them through other people's eyes. I certainly don't want anyone to see them for what I saw them for.

But after having been boxed up for more than a decade, seeing them out of their crates, in the daylight or under the strobes in the photo studio... it is a whole new experience. While I remember all that went into making them (right down to the feeling of mixing up the glazes and the texture of the slurry through my hands as I glazed these big monsters)... but also the emotions that filled my mind as I was making the series.

In retrospect, it wasn't the beginning of a whole new world as much as it was the end of one. I just didn't know that then.






5 comments:

Michael Kline said...

Great!

cookingwithgas said...

Do what you need to do for you and heal,body and soul-heal!

cookingwithgas said...

Hi Alex, I am spending more time looking and reading about these platters and how they came about. As someone who has made a living off production pottery I am awed by these.
I am always amazed at where a person can take, or stretch the limits to the end and back again. You did that with these.
I find that the more time I spend with them the more I see.
Your ability to talk about them and your beautiful photos help bring them to life.
Thank you for sharing them and your thoughts.
M

Alex Solla said...

Meredith, I have to say... there is SO MUCH MORE I want to share about the making of these platters, and all the emotional turmoil I was going through.... but believe it or not, I Was told NOT to discuss this... on the advice of my lawyer. Yeah, council told me NOT to talk about all the bad stuff that happened. I still feel censured. And the divorce has been final for over a decade. Ugh.

cookingwithgas said...

well boo on them. I mean really,boo. This just means you need to go ahead and write the book.