Stars: 3
Review by: MandyApgar
A large, highly illustrated, account of the life, career and influences of potter / folk artist Guy Wolff. I knew nothing of the fellow before I read this. Born to artistically inclined parents, he apprenticed with a master before starting on his own in the 70s. When his children came in a decade things got to be a struggle, and by then he had to be more inventive to hook customers and passers by. Specializing in horticultural pots based on antique designs, he managed eventually to get several high profile clients (the Monticello estate, Steve Jobs, Martha Stewart, etc.) and it was the latter especially who really set him as the "in" pottery artist. His studio is in Connecticut now, and he also trains potters in guilds in various countries as a way to help make struggling artists more sufficient. I liked it for its examinations into folk culture and self sufficiency, but it does become a bit too much once his career is established. The fact that the last chapter is entitled "Mud Man, poet of flowerpots" pretty much says that you are in artsy yuppie territory.
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