Ready to Ware

I used to match my mug to my outfit. There. I said it.

 

I think clay artists and non-profit enthusiasts carry their own sense of style. For example, when I go to NCECA, I see a lot more prints and patterns combined with vibrant colors in addition to (or paired with) Dickies and Carhartts than I see at other art venues. On the same note, I recently went to a fundraising workshop wearing my “non-profit administrator hat” (packing my artfully professional attire). As we went around the room and introduced ourselves, I noticed a dramatic difference in what the medical and university administrators were wearing versus the rest of the npos in the room. Needless to say, we like to be comfortable…we’re going to be here awhile!

 

So back to matching my mugs to my outfits…walking into the kitchen of the Gallery Building is always a hot spot. First, there is always something sweet and tempting on the counter. Second, you are bound to get in a juicy water cooler/tea/coffee conversation. Third, there are the impromptu meetings that happen right there in front of the microwave.

 

My day would begin by noticing Carolyn already put the coffee on. While it finished, I would open the cupboard take a quick glance down and ask: was I wearing stripes? Prints? Dainty or gray and wintery? What was the dominant color? Accent color? And then… I would scan through all the mugs-Dugan, Hyleck, Pozefsky, Wallace, Bedwell, Smith, Cloonan, Lowery, Vitek, Curran, Kandel, Aronin, Meeker, Chun-Lan, Doigan, Sokoloski-Sandler, Quai Li, random students, random teachers, former residents, demos…

 

My concern was not solely on fashion. Picking a mug is part of our job as clay artists and staffers. We have to know the product. This selection process guaranteed that I would not drink out of the same mug 2 days in a row. It also guaranteed that I knew what that Wallace handle felt like or how the faceted foot of Collette’s mug sat so smart and clever at my desk. And while we all have our own collections at home, it’s those pots at work we handle the most. Even more the reason to make sure it goes with what you’re wearing!

Leave a Comment