Tony Clennell Workshop 2024: Marks of Process
The group of potters and friends who attended the workshop and/or the kiln unload at the end.
In October 2023, I stepped out on a limb and sent a very intimidating email to a local wood fire potter who has created a vibrant, kind, and generous community of potters around her. The email I sent asked if I could be her very part-time, free-of-charge studio assistant. As I drafted the email, my heart kept doing flips in my chest. After reading it through and then re-reading it through another hundred times, I finally pressed send and quickly slammed my laptop closed. The same evening, I got a quick and to-the-point response: “I certainly could use help around the studio…” And soon, an assistantship was born.
Ever since, once a week (sometimes more), I help Tammy Martinez in her studio and I truly feel so grateful to say that. I learn so much every time I’m there whether that’s how to mix glazes from raw materials or how to pug clay, how to use a bench grinder to remove wads from bricks, how to make wadding and cone packs—you get it. I’ve also been fortunate enough to help her prepare for shows and now a workshop. In the beginning of April, Tony Clennell, a Master Potter from Ontario, Canada, spent a week firing Tammy’s kiln and putting on a weekend-long workshop that explained a little bit how he creates the work he does. I was incredibly lucky to be able to help during the whole thing while also being able to listen and take notes on what Tony was saying. I had been intimidated by this artist and craftsman who had over 60 years of pottery experience under his belt (he started slip-casting when he was six years old!), but he was one of the most down-to-earth and kind people I’ve gotten to meet. I don’t know what I had gone in expecting, but it hadn’t been that level of friendly (and, like, hello. He’s Canadian!). His life has also served as an important reminder that you can shape it to be whatever you want it to be. Everything you do will prepare you for the next thing, in some way. You just have to be patient during the process and open to the journey.
By the end of the workshop, not only did I walk away with new inspirations for pieces and techniques to try—a few of Tammy’s crew, including myself, are going to put this new knowledge to use over the summer—but I also walked away having met some amazing potters from all over North America. I felt emotionally exhausted but creatively energized with a full heart. I think I walked away from this, of course, with new skills for my toolkit but mostly with the reminder of how impactful kindness and generosity can be.
I was just an assistant, but I was still appreciated and acknowledged. So, even though Tony’s workshop was titled Marks of Process for how he makes his pieces, I feel like that title can also apply to living, in the ways we treat and interact with people. What kind of marks are you leaving on others in your walk through life? What kinds of marks are others leaving on you? Because this is all part of the process of being alive, and it’s important to know and understand the things that make an impression on us and why. Thankfully, I’m surrounded by so many genuinely nice people. All of their marks will not only last, but help me be a better person because of them.
