Tom Bushery
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I began working with clay about eight years ago. My wife had taken some pottery classes and really enjoyed working on the wheel. We got one and whenever I saw her working away at it I always thought ‘No way could I do that.’ But then her job changed, and she didn’t have the time to put into pottery. I walked past that wheel, intrigued, for about two years and finally found a guy from Sweden in the area who put on some basic classes. I took a couple of his classes and then just started working on my own. Books, lots of clay going into my recycle bucket, videos, lots of clay going into my recycle bucket, talking with other potters, and lots of clay put into my recycle bucket…that’s what went into the bulk of my clay education.
A few months ago Maryann Schwartz from Lemon Street spent a couple of evenings coaching me and challenging me on my technique, and that helped tremendously. What clay has taught me about learning (anything) is that you have to be willing to stretch.
So far almost all of my work is intended functional, I consider myself to be more of a craftsman than an artist. However, lately I’ve loosened up creatively and by the time my next show rolls around I plan to have more of an artistic flair to my work. My wife, Sue Markko, is a mosaic artist and some of her work really inspires me to stretch my imagination. We have a couple of ideas that we plan to collaborate on, so who knows? Maybe my next show will be our show.
When I’m not working in my pottery studio I’m a massage therapist at Equinox and at Anytime Fitness. I got into massage therapy about three years ago as a second career, and the first thing I noticed is that the tactile aspect of massage therapy is very similar to working with clay…particularly on the wheel. Sensitive touch is a keystone of effective massage therapy: knowing when to apply just the right amount of pressure, for the right reason. I have to give some of the credit for my success as a massage therapist to the experience pottery has given me in “seeing with my hands”.
My business cards describe me as a “practitioner in the art and science of therapeutic massage”. I think you could describe working with clay in the same way.
