Making Choices

I am choosing pots for my upcoming exhibition at the Cooley Gallery in Leesburg, Va.  

The opening is this Friday night, April 4th, from 6 - 9pm. I have participated in very few exhibitions over the years and when I have, they have tended to be as part of a larger group show. This, for me, is a rare one-man show and while it is modest in size it still takes me way too long to choose the work than ever it should. Part of my dilemma is the result of having such varied interests in clay that I have to decide which of my interests in clay to show. My youthful tendency was to show a bit of everything, but I know now that a  well edited and focused body of work makes a much stronger statement. I think that this is true of most big craft fairs as well. I didn't do many, and seldom did much business, but I always had ten different ideas on hand at any given point.  This way of working served me well as I settled into my retail shop, where I sold most of my pots for 20 years. The variety made it more likely to connect with a customer on the streets of Fredericksburg.  In the midst of aisle upon aisle of vendors at a show, a single voice has a much better chance of standing out in the crowd.All of this is by way of saying that this particular vase pictured here is a current favorite of mine and I will build around it as I make further choices. It's about 14" high and will be available at the gallery and on their website starting Friday.