After a couple months of a restful, mind clearing break... we're back ! For about two months (since graduating) it was more so a forced break -- limited access to a wheel and kiln. The last month of break was more so intentional... I didn't make myself go work. I needed time to have a rest. I am very aware of myself and how I let myself get burn out and then avoid working months on end. During summer breaks, I rarely created.
Finishing up with school in May, a pressing concern is: are you going to take a break... and is that break going to end up being forever ?!? Easy peasy to let those precious moments fall through the cracks. My motto in the past year to help me address my complacency is this: I am an active participant in my own life. Things don't just happen to me. I engage with each day. Each day is a gift from God.
Back to the ceramics.... So in the month of June, I did have access to a wheel and kiln, yet didn't touch them. It didn't cross my mind very often. And then... end of June, BAM: soul and brain start nagging me: it's time to throw, go throw, what a great day to throw... leading me to declare to Joel, "I am going to throw today. Don't let me go to sleep without throwing something."
Then, it turns out, the wheel available could only spin in the direction for right-hand dominant people. I'm left-handed. The effort to relearn how to throw was there but slowly dwindled as I struggled to center the mud. This taught me-- it's hard to work against muscle memory. Thankfully, it was only a few days of waiting for the correct wheel. Waiting and really wanting to throw! The good wait -- where the build of up energy and imagination for what's next renews my passion for making.
More little mugs!
I love making these tiny objects. Useful and delightful. I drink out of my favorite little mug nearly everyday and my day is better for it! The objects we used everyday ought be delightful, inviting, and tell a story.
The process of making pottery is a marathon not a sprint. There are a lot of steps and a lot of waiting. At the moment, I am waiting for these mugs dry for the bisque firing. I have three more mugs to finish (carve and attach handles to) and then they will join their brethren on the drying shelf.