More Wonderful Quotes by Women Potters, the Differences of Men and Women Potters

Jane Hamlyn:
'I am a woman, a mother and a potter, I am interested in feminism and though I do not feel oppressed by men, I am aware of difference. Our bodies for a start are not the same. If pots are about our bodies and women make pots, then I think there is something about that which communicates itself.'

I don't know who this is but I really agree with her quote from Women's pottery quotes. I have always considered myself a feminist potter artist person but guess what? I don't hate men. I really like them and I like the differences. I have joined several groups of feminists over the years but left quickly if it was a complaining group of whiners. Not to be confused with women who like wine. I don't want to be around negative Nellie's.

I have a really nice husband who respects my space and independence and we are really good friends and enjoy each others company. We listen to each other and encourage each others creativity even though we don't always actively participate in each others projects. It is nice that way.

In pottery, I have observed that men work with a lot of angles and want it to be straight and accurate. A good male friend was watching me work in my shop the other day and bingo! Geometry in action. Yes, Mr Dyer, after all these years I do need to remember those formulas. My friend remembered the formula for the circumference of a circle and told me how many inches long my extruded rim needed to be to fit the pot in less that a few seconds. Thank you. And another male friend comes up with a lot of carpentry type solutions as I work with new shapes. They hesitate to tell me, the experience potter, what to do. I encourage them and listen to what they say and evaluate it as a new approach. I appreciate their comments and suggestions.

Women seem to work with more curves and a looser approach. Men lots of times want to "be as accurate as a machine" and women tend to want to express themselves in a softer way. No, this is not always true but with my 35 years of so of teaching I see some general differences and appreciate both approaches. There are few absolutes. No one is right. No one is wrong. So many answers that make creating wonderfully complex.

These are not absolutes. I see men and women changing rolls often in approaches to clay and construction. And, I guess we all start with the same lump of sticky dirt.