My First Handmade Pottery

My Own Utopian Experiment #6: If I find something interesting and think about it more than three times, think less and just do it!

(Continuing from last post: https://invitedtoshare.com/trying-something-new-with-beginners-mind/)

I did not ditch the idea of learning the wheel but I realized that 5 sessions are not enough to master it. I also wanted to learn another technique. In 3^rd class, I asked the instructor to show me how to hand-built a mug. Creating a mug was my original mission. I really wanted to take one mug home. I actually loved the process. It was equally satisfying in a different way. You massage the clay so there’s no air pockets. Then press the clay with a pressing machine or roll the clay by hand. The key is that the clay should have the even thickness. There are so many ways you can do but cutting papers based on my plan makes the most sense. You can fold the paper to see if all parts fit together. Cut the clay into pieces to make a mug by using the paper design. I cut into three pieces, the body, the bottom and the handle. How you cut depends on the design. I put the pieces together. Close the seams. Make the edges nicer and other finishing touches. It was to be fired for me to paint and glaze. Hand-building method was more relaxing for me. You can predict better and more forgiving. I also loved the imperfection part. I know skilled artists can make it perfect but it does not have to be at all. I just like the way it is even though it is not perfect.

I missed 4^th class unfortunately. This is sometimes what happens when I book many sessions. It is hard to imagine my home and work situations a month away. A life responsibility got a hold of me. I used to worry about my schedules when I book something like this. The concern may sound reasonable and logical but it is not. I used to give way more power than it should have. There are more times that everything goes good than bad. Human brain registers bad ones more than good ones. Our brain is designed to “prepare” for unfortunate events to survive but it is an impossible task. Humans can only predict immediate future but not beyond. Regardless of our life situations, we can’t predict our days three to four weeks later. Anything can happen. I can make this work if I really want. If I happened to miss one, it is just life and I do my best with what I have left. Missing 4^th class means I have to finish up glazing all my pieces in one class but I was glad to miss one, not two. There is a positive side of everything!

I was looking forward to the last session. That’s the most mysterious part. Glazing is a total surprise. The color of glaze may not be the color when it is fired. Chameleon! How you combine two can have multiple effects depending on what and how you mix. The design of pottery also has effects like running glazes in different ways. I was very curious about the end look during the entire process. I used stoneware-look glazes for my bowls and shot mug, two turquoise and one red-brown. For my two mugs, I used stoneware-look glaze for inner side of the mugs. For exterior sides, I mixed with clear glaze with copper. Copper gives a dark look of green when it is fired. One of the mugs did not turn out as I expected but that’s the beauty of pottery that you never know how it would turn out until the very end. It makes you wait and really looking forward to it. The anticipation is the best part.

I missed one class. One mug did not turn out as I wished. I am still glad I tried. I experienced it! That’s the best part. I came to this planet to experience and find out who I am and what I like. Mostly important, I got that one mug! If I find something interesting and think about it more than three times, I would think less and just do it! Do you have anything you thought about more than three times and never make it happen? Go ahead. Plunge yourself into it. You would be a little different when you came out of it. Enjoy your day.