Journal

My friend, Anna, built me this lovely website and, along with
Brian, they’ve set up this journal (actually, a blog in disguise). My
intent here is to share some thoughts and ruminations regarding
my ever evolving career as the proprietor of LibertyTown Arts
Workshop and of my efforts to get back to making pots.
This has been an interesting year (but, of course, they all are!). I
closed my workshop and gallery on Hanover Street in March after
14 years and have been without a place to work ever since. In
addition to closing the shop, I also moved house at the same time.
Since then I have organized, staged and concluded an exhibition
celebrating my 25 year career here in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It
was fascinating to revisit all those old pots, but as I have repeated
often lately, I’m much more interested in making the next one than
looking at the old ones!
I have also been building the last 5 studios at LibertyTown. In a
week or so we will welcome 9 new artists to our group, making a
total of more than 40 artists working and selling from more than 25
studios. LibertyTown is a private art center that I founded a little
more than 4 years ago. We offer classes and open studio time for
pottery students. We teach many other art and craft classes, and
just last week began a monthly series of acoustic music.
All this and a short stay in England (made longer by getting
caught in the B.A. airstrike – 5 days to get home!) have kept me
from my ultimate mission, which is to build a new workshop next to
my woodburning kiln out in the country. I’ve been mostly patient
about this ‘gap year’ but now that we are deep into the autumn
season, I’m getting less so. This is always one of my favorite times
of year and making pots with the holiday trade looming ahead is
normally great inspiration.
Instead, I’ll be building my very modest, solar electrified studio at
my sweet getaway about 10 miles out of town. I hope that by the
first of the year I’ll put the carpenter’s tools away and break out my
clay tools again.
So, there you have it. A beginning, of sorts. I’ll be back…
Dan