by TASI Executive Director, Greg Busceme, Sr.
As Gumbo ClayFest nears, I feel the urge to impress upon you the importance and the absolute beauty of it all. The current group who descends upon our community met the Beaumont contingent over 20 years ago and began a relationship where the artists would come to Beaumont and spend a few days with us creating clay work and getting to know the artists in this community. Years ago, we did this at Greeny’s in Clarion, Pennsylvania, Joyce Jablonski’s in Kansas City, MO, and Patsy Cox at Northridge, CA. I must say that I was way out of my league, but the Studio’s idea about outreach was a new wrinkle in the workshops and it was adopted as part of the workshop agenda. Ultimately, they came to the Studio and have been gracing our facility for many years.
Collectively there are virtually 200 years of experience in the stars of Gumbo ClayFest. That is a lot of knowledge in one place and it’s all available for aspiring artists, not just clay people, to learn from the vast array of experience these artists possess.
The Studio is a rare bird that flies without wings, existing on pure faith, and sheer will. You got this! We got this too!
