Clay Times Back Issues Vol. 3 Issue 12 • Sep/Oct 1997 | Page 22

Vally Possony continued from page 21

CYNTHIA BRUMBECK PHOTO

bank regulator working 10 to 15 frantic hours a day. Now, I am a
full-time artist, gardener, and aspiring cook. I haven’t always
given Vally so much of the credit for the transformation in my
life, but now, reflecting back, her life—so rich in dignity, curiosity, and beauty— has been a powerful yardstick against which to
measure the completeness of my own life. With her life as a
model, she sparked my own readiness for change and the
courage in me to recognize the need to move on. She awakened
in me the inner knowledge that I too must find my own space.
She gave me the passion for
and a model of freedom—freedom to follow my own childlike pulls and tugs, my own
destiny. And she gave me a
vision of beauty and art that
will always influence me.
For those of us who have
a passion for the ancient art of
clay, I think it’s important to
“Teapot” by Vally Possony.
remember that the way we
live will show in our work. Vally’s pots will always embody the
integrity, simplicity, and playfulness of her life.
To answer my original question, I think after Vally’s successful 1978 show at the Phillips Collection, she no longer felt a need
to push for recognition. After all, the only other potters to have a
show at the Phillips were Leach and Hamada. At that point, she
had enough students and collectors to support her simple
lifestyle and continue her work. Now, though, it’s time for her
pots to take their rightful place amongst other master works. ■

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