christa assad

Tomorrow my alarm will sound at 4:30am, and I assure you, there are only two or three things that will get me out of bed that early: 1) international travel, 2) a month-long visit to the Archie Bray Foundation, 3) well, i’m sure there’s something else but i will skip over that topic for now and stick to point numero dos!

I’ve been invited to the Bray as a Visiting Artist for the month of August, 2012, and I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve…wrapping and re-wrapping my special tools that will accompany me for the stay (*note: add just a touch of sarcasm here – I mean, just look at my travel-size toolbox!)…

…dreaming of all the toys that will inhabit the room when I open my eyes after the wait is over…Well, okay, so I have to MAKE those toys for myself, but who could ask for a better job? Santa?

Lets face it. We ceramic artists are pretty damn lucky that we get to travel the world to share our secret recipes, super-hero powers and even a few beers as we huddle around the kiln-yard. Work is play, and we like to play hard. I think we worry that outsiders (yes, all of you out there who haven’t contracted the clay contagion yet) don’t take our career choice seriously, and so we moan and groan about our sore backs, our torturous firing schedules, the dusty, dirty floors…all clever cover for the real truth: we wouldn’t give up our pig-pens for cubicles even for health bennies AND a bigger expense account.

And so I’ve rolled up my clothes, used them to cushion the few cups I’m bringing along for new friends, and tomorrow when the clock radio (yes, I still have one!) jars me awake before dawn, I promise not to squeeze my eyes shut!