By Way of Introduction…

My name is Frank Gosar. In my nearly 55 years, I've been a graphic artist, cartoonist and rubber stamp designer. Storyteller and children's musician, songwriter, writer and radio host, painter, pottery teacher and sculptor. Right now I'm primarily a full-time production potter selling my stoneware as Off Center Ceramics.

I never intended to have a blog; to be truthful, I only signed up here because I wanted to comment on other peoples' LiveJournals. I didn't think I could handle the commitment--in fact, I'm still not sure that I can. But I started a website for Off Center Ceramics in 2002, a chatty, rambling thing (storyteller, remember?) that talked about my history as a potter, my relationship to the forms I throw and patterns I paint. It also had practical information: sizes, prices, show schedules. And a short essay on the Welcome page that I'd change every six weeks or so. Some were silly, most were ephemeral, but some were worthy of a second look. I kept intending to create some sort of archive where I could store, sort and flag the better bits. But it seemed like too much work, particularly since I still hand-code the site in html.

And then I thought, "Isn't that what a blog does?" So here we are.

Some of these entries are old essays from the website, and I'll try to note the original publication date and details. Some will be new. I expect more than a few will be random jottings. We'll have to see.

Why You Should Always Use Your Own Pottery (at least in public)

I'm sitting on a shady park bench, taking a break from the booth when a passing teenage girl says "That's a cool mug." I reply, "Thank you. I made it, and I'm selling them at the Arts Festival here this weekend."

If I'd been using someone else's mug, no matter how often I used it or how much I loved it, all I could have said was "Thank you."

Thus endeth Marketing 101.