I've been waiting for this moment for a while. I'm currently on my third ceramics class and I'm still trying to get the basics down. One of these basic skills is the pull, which is when you lift the walls up. This simple cylinder in the photo above is the first time I've been able to do a pull successfully.
It was such an surprising moment was I was pulling the walls up. The clay was actually responding to what my hands wanted them to do. I remember being shocked even as it was happening. I still don't know what I did differently that time vs. all my past attempts. I've tried to replicate the experience, but unfortunately it hasn't been as easy as that time. I know I'm making slow progress and wish I were improving at a faster rate, but I'm glad that there are little magical moments like the one I just described that keep me motivated to stay in the game even though I'm not very good at the task. Starting a new month of daily drawings. Here's what I've created so far. Trying to challenge myself to try new colors and styles so that I expand my comfort zone.
It may not look like much, but this bowl is important because it's the first time since I've taken ceramics that I was able to make a relatively centered, even-walled piece on the wheel. Without assistance from the instructor.
I know it doesn't look very impressive and it's not even done yet, but it's still an accomplishment for me. The key factor--and something I need to do more of, is to listen to myself more and "connect" with the clay instead of blindly following steps. Yes, of course one needs to know the correct process, but I've found what helps me is putting in time making my own mistakes and seeing what works. It's not usually very helpful for me for the instructor to step in and work on my piece or to tell me the specific hand positions for each step. At this point in my learning, I really need to experiment and to see how the clay responds to my actions. Hopefully, this will be just the first of more successful clay adventures to come. Last Spring, I took my first ceramic wheel throwing class and I remember what a stressful experience it was for me.
I was slower than all the other students in class who seemed to pick up what the instructor was saying with much less difficulty than me. Even though many of their pottery creations were uneven and awkward looking, I was jealous that they could even produce something. It took me many classes before I could even make something ugly. This time around, my experience has been much less stressful. I still haven't mastered the basics yet, but the negative self talk has been toned down (it's hard to get rid of it completely). Mostly, it's due to the fact that I have more experience now. I know the studio. I took two ceramics classes last year, so the feel of clay isn't foreign. I'm familiar with the clean up process and how much time that requires. The terminology isn't new and basically, I've done it before. Lastly, the pressure is off. Because I took two classes last year, I've gotten the pressure to produce pieces out of my system. Now, my main focus is on practice. I'm not trying to end up with a certain number of finished pieces. I admit that I still compare myself to others and wish I've progressed more quickly. I do have to remind myself regularly to not get worked up and to stop it with the negative self-talk, but overall, I'm glad I'm still keeping at it even though I'm not very good at it. I think that itself is something I'm proud of. |
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