For some of us, the recent shutdown of the world provided the time and space needed to grow. A tremendous amount of creativity was unleashed when introverted artists like me were thrust into our element, finally able to concentrate on ideas we had tucked into our back pockets ages ago.
As an art major, I was not completely new to ceramics, I took a course during freshman year. However, there were two serious obstacles. The first was that the class size was larger than could be supported. With only two or three wheels available, studio time was extremely limited. The second issue was that the instructor assumed everyone had previous experience, which I did not. So while I learned the processes intellectually, for lack of practice and careful instruction, I never did master any of the skills necessary to produce something worth the time and effort I put into it. And yet, I loved the idea of it all. Sitting at a wheel with some clay and water and spinning it into something beautiful and useful to someone else.
I'm sure you can see where this story leads, so I won't drag it out. It was messy and frustrating and yet so much fun and quite therapeutic. In the cool, dark solitude of my basement, the pandemic melted away from my thoughts, while I taught myself to create pottery (with a little help from YouTube)
As with everything, practice makes progress, so I've spent the last three years practicing and I've made some good progress. Although it seems like there is always more to learn, I enjoy watching each necessary next step reveal itself like a stepping stone. I suspect pottery is one of those things where no one person can know everything there is to know, nor master everything there is to master. And there is not just one path for everyone to follow, but there is a path for everyone who wants to take the journey.
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