I started cake weather after grad school knowing I needed to try something new. I wasn't sure what direction to take but knew any step was better than none. It's been nearly a decade.
In those bumbling years, life has gifted me perspective I didn't possess in my early thirties. I've become a mother. I've observed people around me change or, worse, barely change at all. I've watched older loved ones get sick, frail and pass. I sensed the hushed, bitter regret they harbored. Life is humbling, achingly beautiful, and short.
I feel so fortunate that ceramics entered my life in 2022. As a child denied her love of art, holding my very first fired and glazed vessel was a profound moment. Permanence, effort, change, creativity, love, art, hope, all captured in a wonderfully imperfect, wonky form. I was struck.
I'm coming to terms with the fact a life well lived requires vulnerability, including pursuing things that are not guaranteed. Pottery reminds me that I may spend hours spinning my wheel (fun pun) for seemingly no sensible reason but isn't that what a life fully lived requires?
I will document my ceramics journey and list pieces made by my hand. I'm eager to see and share what's to come as I develop my signature style and philosophize about clay and life.
If there are other potters who can relate to these words, I would love to connect. If you're out there, do leave a comment. Cheers!