the Job

I was told that when a potter becomes a potter, when they sit in their studio and make everyday, all day.... their skills explode. The last week or so I've been trying to spend as much time in the studio getting the work done I need to do for Free Ceramics and at the same time begin to make some pots for myself. For the last half a year my own pots have taken their time to cool off and sit patiently in the background of my daily life. Which is ok. I understand that things happen and I have to adjust to those things. I've had a lot of time to think about my pots. I've tried a few things.. made a few kiln loads, gathered a crap load of brick and almost have a finished woodkiln and I've been lucky to sell some of those pots. While I was in the studio tonight I unconsciously did something that I hadn't done for so long and what an amazing pleasure it was once I realized what was happening. I had made a board of bowls, which I really liked.. I trimmed them at their perfect, or my perfect, time and state of wetness.. I enjoyed every moment of it. Once the bowls and a few cups were trimmed I was looking at a couple of them and imagined a handle or two. So I did it. Now. that might seem like a normal motion for most makers out there.. but at my job I have a certain line that has to be made and these types of spontaneous acts of creativity are to a minimum and must follow a kind of style.. so it doesn't happen often. So... handles pulled and attached to the rim of a bowl and two handles attached to a couple of my yunomis. Magical. I just made two new forms and I'm excited to see where they can go... And now I remember once again why it's so damn fun to sit and push clay around. It's satisfying to see what you're capable of doing and then to see it keep growing...

No pictures today my friends. My camera broke last week while I was in Utah seeing Robin DuPont's graduation show.