8.13.2009

Nice Surprise!




When I got home from my trip the other day I had a nice little package addressed to me from fellow blogger, Tracey Broome . She enjoyed my post about the word "conundrum" and made a tile with that very word on it. It now hangs right above my stove where I can see it everyday and here is where this word will segway into another topic I"ve been meaning to post about.


" Opportunities that Fall Into Ones Lap"
About two weeks before we left for our vacation I got a email from the head of the department at Winthrop University in Rock Hill asking me if I'd like to come teach a class in the ceramic department. The class is a beginning pottery class and the time was set for the fall session on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. And yes...once again, the word Conundrum comes up in my thoughts about this opportunity.
If you recall I decided to leave my classes at Claywork in Charlotte this spring because I felt like the time away from my family and the drive back and forth and Charlotte was just to much for myself and the rest of the people I share my life with. Conundrum.....do I take this job where I'm away two nights a week ( just for the fall until the Spring schedule could be worked out so I could teach days.) Or do I pass up an opportunity to teach again at the University which is a great career move.
Wow...my head pretty much exploded the night I got the call and Joey and I talked it over. The outcome was, I decided to take it, along with keeping my Art History classes at York Tech and still having time during the day to work in my studio. When I weighed out the time I spent driving back and forth to Charlotte teaching two classes with my 15 minute commute to Rock Hill, it kind of even out! I'm sure we'll have a few bumps this fall and I'll have my normal Mommy guilt, but it will be a new adventure that I'm always willing to take!
I'll be teaching under Jim Connell, who if your potter, I'm sure your familiar with his work. His wife Paula Smith , who is taking over the ceramic department at CPCC has also been kind of me in trying to get me teaching positions at her former place of employment so I'm happy to say the ceramic circles in Charlotte and word of mouth is a good thing. I really believe lots of time jobs happen because your in the right place at the right time and I guess, this might just be one of those times!
On a final note, all of you bloggers who are really missing Ron Philbeck, I got an email from him today saying " I'm not coming home"! I can't wait to see what he's been up to. He'll be back soon!

4 comments:

Tracey Broome said...

What a great opportunity to work at Winthrop. I almost went there when I graduated high school, they have a great design program, or they did. And Jim is very nice, I had breakfast with him every morning out on the porch at Arrowmont during the Clay Conference. What's that saying about a door closing, window opening thing? There ya go. Tile looks good, I bought black velvet ribbon for it, but the holes were too small and the ribbon wouldn't fit. Had to settle for the black string, I would have liked the ribbon better. I do like that word :)

Patricia Griffin Ceramics said...

What a great opportunity. You're living life LARGE! Congratulations! Love Tracey's tile too!

jbf said...

Congratulations! What an opportunity! Just don't forget about us "little people", ok?

Anonymous said...

well, it's a conundrum but a good one, you're in high demand. congrats on the offer even if you don't take it and good luck with deciding