Sandy Brown: Queen of Spontaneity

No N.C.E.C.A. for me this year. In case you don't already know, N.C.E.C.A. is an educational clay conference. It moves from coast to coast and is being hosted by Pittsburgh this year. Picture hundreds of clay people coming together, watching stars of the clay world give demonstrations, taking opportunities to see and try out new and nifty clay equipment, plus galleries all over town highlighting the best and the brightest contemporary clay artists.
Sandy Brown will be one of the clay stars on stage. In 1997, I contacted Sandy to inquire about studying with her. She lives in Appledore, England, right on the coast. I had never met Sandy, but had admired her work in magazines. Her work is whimsical and spontaneous. When viewing her work, you can tell she is a woman who doesn't take things too seriously.
My clay work had been informed by two teachers, both fairly rigid in their approach to clay. I have made hundreds of cylinders, only to cut them in half in order to see how consistently I had managed to pull up the clay. I have been to many a critique, where most of the pots ended up being thrown into a trash can on wheels ( a throw back to Daniel Rhodes and his approach to critiques-my WVU professor got his M.F.A. with Dan and it shows!). After literally years of these kind of experiences, I yearned to study with someone who simply made work.
Much to my surprise, Sandy wrote back to me, invited me to stay at her house and work with her for a month. It was a great experience, and I found what I was looking for. Sandy values her work. Most potters have shard piles behind their studio, where they break pots that don't please them. When I asked Sandy where her pile was, she replied, "I never throw any of my pots away. I have used too many resources to bring them into being." Wow! This was really new to me.
She began making pots after traveling to Japan as a cosmetic representative in the early '70's. She would show up at department stores, act as if she had just flown in from Hollywood, and show Japanese ladies how to properly apply eye liner. Her translator liked pots, and they would stop off to visit potters between mascara lessons. She was hooked. She married (and later divorced) Takehsi Yasuda and the rest is history. She shies away from demonstrations because her work is rooted in spontaneity, which, by definition, is difficult to schedule. When I visited her, she had just returned from an artist in residency in Australia. Once she arrived at her residency, she was told the only stipulation was to work with clay in a way she had yet to try. It was in Australia she began making larger than life figures.
Her house in Appledore is an old bed and breakfast, which she has converted to a bed and pottery. From her kitchen window, you can see fishing boats and lovely coastal scenes. When looking out my bedroom window, I could see one of her figures prominently placed in the middle of the courtyard- a big happy lady accented in blue and she always made me smile. Sandy is also lucky to have a church in her village which offers healing every Wednesday evening. No, I never went to be healed, but it comforted me to know I could, if I needed.
I'm missing the conference and a chance to visit with Sandy because I will be at Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft. While there, I will study with Mary Kay Botkins and Linday Pichaske. I am looking forward to leaving reality behind, living behind a walled campus, where all focus and activity is centered around creativity.
One final thing...
I was out for a walk yesterday and got something in my eye. Once I returned to the house, I took a look in the mirror by my front door, and as I watched, my eye quickly swelled shut in a matter of seconds! I'm on my way to the eye doctor and hope not to be arriving at Arrowmont looking like I do. I have coined a term, cyclopsian, and I think it describes how I look and feel quite adequately. If only I were in Appledore and it was Wednesday evening!