The Return of the Lidded Jars

My time in the engine shop was coming to an end. I had learned a lot more than I ever would have thought and picked up plenty of new tricks working in the aviation industry. Another tool in the toolbox. I had traveled a lot and seen many new things, but it was time to hang up that hat and move to a job that did not have the potential to compromise my freedom. So I began searching around to see what I could do to alter my career path. I found a listing for a potential next step and decided to interview. It seemed like something I could do, a warehouse position and quality control were advertised. During the interview, the VP of the company had different ideas for me. I was to work in the sales department instead. Apparently writing engine repair orders trained me well for this. My focus shifted once more. I attended studio as scheduled once a week but now also come back a second day on my own with Bess so that we can work and meditate on art and process. I was able to compartmentalize work and studio without skewing with a personal perspective. I was an audience to the aviation industry once more and I could now romanticize about the time spent in it through making work that reflected on that time period. But first a disconnect was needed.

I focused on making jars again. It started with a small one then a large one. Not to the scale I was making in college but close to it.

I felt like it was something I could do again. So I began making a set of jars. I tried to stay away from some of the things I already figured out in college and differed them with a wider breadth designs.

Like riding a bike. I had a lot of fun putting these together. Years of playing around let me execute construction quickly and efficiently. Standardizing rim diameters per series helped to create the best compositions from a mixture of parts. Assembly was quick and decorating was engaging. A quick bisque firing and glazing needed to happen.

I had forgotten how fulfilling this was. Seeing the planning and work come to fruition was a rewarding feeling. I can build inventory. I can make larger work again.

So now we are more caught up to where I am in life when I started blogging and building this site. Of course, many things are still missing from being told, I’m sure I’ll find a way to bring those up in future posts. The content will now switch over to be of more current happenings. I will begin posting projects as I finish them along with the process of production.

As of this writing, the wife and I are expecting and I’m sure I’ll disappear for a bit while parenthood takes over. I’ll emerge from that journey in due time to continue making art. I’ll still keep up as much practice as I can. I do still have projects that can be worked on at home. I’ll keep posting when I have the time.