MGclay -

Oh ya, we’re off to Minnesota doncha’ know.

August 9, 2010 No comments

One of the responsibilities of being an apprentice for Simon is to run errands. The studio was running low on porcelain so Ryan and I were informed that someone needed to pick up clay. Not a big deal, but here is the catch. Simon gets his clay from Continental Clay in Minneapolis, four hours away. Ryan volunteered to go and I decide to tag along. One, so that I knew where to go the next time clay rations ran low, and two, I had never been to Minnesota. Ryan then had the idea that if we were going to go all the way to Minnesota for a pickup we should make the most of it. One of the great things about Minnesota is that there are some impressive potters living there. So it was decided that we would try and visit a few while we were there.

We contacted Guillermo Cuellar who lives north of the cities to see if he would be around; Simon is an annual guest of Guillermo’s at the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour. He said to stop on by and if we were to show up around noon we could do lunch. So the night before, we readied Simon’s pick up truck and put on the trailer in preparation to haul 3,000 pounds of clay half way across Wisconsin. Just before we left for the night Simon received a call from Lloyd Cledwyn, a friend and potter, saying that Warren MacKenzie was going to be unloading a kiln the next morning. We may have the chance to visit and see some fresh pots.

At 7:00AM the next morning, Ryan, his girlfriend Mallory and I met at the studio and piled into the pickup country style (three people across the bench seat). Simon gave us one more task before we left. He had packed pots the night before and wanted us to drop them off at Northern Clay where he was going to be a featured artist. We got on the road and off we went. The drive is pretty much a straight shot on one highway to get there, and the drive out was uneventful. We showed up at Guillermo’s around 11:30AM and he gave us a tour around his studio and gallery. Afterward, he and his wife, Laurie, prepared us lunch from their garden. There was lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and beets for a salad, some swiss chard, corn from Iowa, and a little bit of sliced lamb with a mint dressing. Laurie prepared some Hibiscus tea(which was awesome!), and for dessert, chocolate covered blueberries. It was delicious, and they were more than gracious hosts.

We mentioned to Guillermo that we were thinking of visiting Warren that afternoon. He said he would give Warren a call and see what he was up to. It turned out that we had pretty good timing, Warren and his wife, Nancy, were pack for a trip and were leaving the next day. So we said our goodbyes and thanked Guillermo and Laurie for their hospitality, and off we went. Following Guillermo’s instruction we made our way to Warren’s house. All the while being a bit nervous and giddy at the same time. Now, if you don’t know who Warren MacKenzie is he is a bit of a big deal in American ceramics. Without using some lame analogy, he is the closest we were going to come to meeting a historical figure in ceramics. As Guillermo told us earlier, when he started working in clay in 1971 Warren was already in the text books as someone of notoriety.

We arrived at his house, which is situated at the end of a country road and wandered up to the front door. We knocked and Warren greeted us and invited us in. As we introduce ourselves he responded with “Hi, I’m Warren MacKenzie”. I was all I could do not to say “Yes, we are painfully aware of this”. He took us to his living room and we sat and chatted for a while. Ryan, Mallory and I talked a little about ourselves and what our plans for our future were to be, we discussed the train kiln we are building and Warren shared his experiences with firing burry box kilns. Ryan spied some pots on a shelf and asked if we could take a look. Warren was happy to share with us his collection. While looking at the pots he informed us that we were holding work by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada. We had in our hands pots by the most influential British potter and a Japanese national treasure.

Warren then took us on a tour of his studio. I was impressed by the size of the facility and the newest kiln he built. The studio had four large rooms, one for his wheels, one for clay, one for glazing, and one for his kiln. It also included loft space for storage. We were in luck as he had just unloaded a kiln that morning and we were able to see a large amount of his work. His ware boards were filled with pots fresh out of the kiln. As we looked as his pots which covered an area of about fifteen feet wide, six feet tall, and five feet deep, he casually mentioned that he has slowed down in his later years and only fires that kiln every five weeks now. I was awe struck as I looked at the pots in front of me. An amount that could rival the amount I have made in the last few years and he, at 86 years old, does this every five weeks. We inquired if any of these pots were for sales and he told us that he had a few shows that he was obligated to send work, but we could choose from some of the smaller items on the shelves. I was able to acquire a nice faceted bowl and a small yunomi (cup).

We were saying our goodbyes and we noticed the time. It was almost 4:00PM, and we still had to travel from Stillwater, where Warren lives, into Minneapolis to pickup clay and drop off Simon’s pots. As we are starting to hurry and panic just a little, Warren picks up the phone and gives Northern Clay a call to let them know we were visiting with him and we would be their shortly. It helps to know the right people sometimes. So we thanked Warren and Nancy for their time and for bringing us into their home, and we were on our way.

We followed the directions Warren gave us to Continental Clay and gave them a call on the way. When we arrived our shipment was ready for us at the dock and we proceeded to load 3,000 pounds of clay by hand into the back of the pickup and trailer. Once we were loaded, Ryan got directions to our next destination, Northern Clay. After forging through the streets of Minneapolis construction and making a few wrong turns we arrived with thirty minutes to spare. We brought in Simon’s pots and had enough time to look through the galleries, the studios, classrooms and kiln room. Since we were potters (and were preceded by a phone call by Warren MacKenzie) they let us stay after hours to look around and talk with the residents.

By the time we left Northern Clay, we were famished and starting to fade. We decided to eat at a place across the street called Himalaya, a restaurant that serves Nepalese food. I was game but had to admit this would be a first for me. The food was good with a familiarity of Indian cuisine. With full bellies, we made our way back to Wisconsin.

About an hour into the drive, we stopped for gas (and ice cream) and Ryan handed over driving duties to me. Up until this point he insisted on driving, but was now weary of it. This is where the problem occurred. When we stopped to refuel it was right around where we should have changed highways. We still don’t know where the mix up was, but after about 10 minutes of driving I saw a sign that listed the distance of three towns, the last being Madison. I thought it strange, but decided to wait until the next marker. Once we arrived at that one and the town names didn’t change, I asked Ryan to pull out the atlas and see where we were at. It turned out we missed our exit and were now heading south. I had Ryan and Mallory find an alternate route on the map so that we could get back on course. They relayed me information to turn here then there, all county roads. The first road which we were on for about eight miles was pretty open and clear, but as we were closing in on our turn I noticed we were chasing a storm which left the roads wet and a fog started to appear. When we got onto the road that would lead us back to our desired highway, I was a bit dubious. By this time the fog had thickened and we were now on a road that was just wide enough for two vehicles to pass. Tree and brush rose up to the shoulder of the road and our windshield was caked with moisture and the carcasses of Wisconsin insects. We were to be on this road for twenty five miles. The ride was slow going and we saw a good portion of Wisconsin’s deer population. About twenty miles into this wilderness trek, I saw a blinking light on the horizon. My first though was, “Finally some civilization!”, but as we got closer it was the only light around. As we approached I could finally see what was ahead of us. I stopped the truck and we looked out ahead of us at the familiar orange and white striped barricades with it’s blinking yellow light and large orange sign “ROAD CLOSED”. I didn’t say it out loud but was definitely think to myself, “This is how horror movies start out.” We consulted the atlas once again and were able to find an alternate route. Within twenty minutes we were back on our desired highway and on our way home.

We stooped to stretch our legs at the first gas station we found and then played some road games to pass the time. But eventually the length of the day and time on the road was wearing us down and we fell silent ready to be home and in our beds. We pulled into Mill Creek Pottery at 12:30AM, covered the trailer with a tarp and decided to unload our haul the next morning. I arrived home and immediately fell into bed with the long adventure behind me. It was a good day.