1 minute read
FIONA RICHES
AWAY FROM THE NOISE / FIONA RICHES
FROM MIXING SHOWS TO GLAZING CERAMICS...
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Pre-lockdown, my natural habitat was behind an audio mixing console at concerts. I’ve been lucky enough to mix all kinds of artists and bands, travel to some fascinating places, and even watch some of my favourite musicians (I’ll never forget seeing Angel Olsen play. She said hello to me but I was too starstruck to get any words out - don’t laugh!). There’s truly no feeling like mixing a show - sometimes I still look out at an ocean of people having the time of their lives from the safety of my front-of-house lifeboat and think "wow, I can’t believe this is my job’ So, why ceramics? It probably seems that the only things clay and rock’n’roll have got in common is that they’ve both got geology related names, but I promise you I get the same sense of satisfaction, of creativity, and of inner calm that I do from smushing lumps of clay as I do from mixing on massive PA systems. When I’m in "show mode’, and I’m really tuned into using my audio frequency analysers (ears), there’s a sense of being completely present with the here and now that is precious and fulfilling, and I’ve found that I can actually reach a similar headspace when I’m making wobbly pots out of clay. Now don’t get me wrong, I miss shows more anything...
