Feelings?

We sometimes expect a lot of kids. A lot of adults still don't know how they feel much of the time, let alone know how to express their feelings. So when my little boy expresses 10 different emotions all at the same time, I try to be understanding. Hugs are a good solution for most things.

Did I mention that I love pottery?

The joy of working with clay has been keeping my hands and thoughts busy lately. I wait impatiently until each pottery class comes around, my head buzzing with ideas that I want to try. What if I try this shape, or will it work if I use this amount of clay? How will it look after it's fired? Will this glaze allow the drawing to show through?

I've been making jugs mostly. I love the idea of focusing on one type of object and trying the different variations that are possible within this constraint. I'm attracted to utilitarian objects, ones which have a use but can also be unashamedly decorative too. Also, I saw an exhibition once where an artist used an empty jug as a metaphor for art. She described how art can only exist where there is a void, and artists are driven to fill that void through creating art. The creation of art fills a void, whether it's an internal void, an absence of something in our environment or society. I wish I could remember the artist's name because this concept has stayed with me for a few years now. So now as I'm making jugs I think of voids and art and the intense pleasure that art making brings.

My lovely pottery teacher asked me a while ago if I had got into 'the zone' as I was working on the wheel, throwing another jug. At the time I was still battling with the wheel, with centrifugal force and trying desperately to make a piece that looked half decent. I told her that I was most definitely not in the zone yet. Then one day as I moved my body forward gently cupping and shaping the spinning clay, it happened easily. It felt as though the clay had started to yield as I had yielded, letting go of what I thought should be happening and worked with what the wheel offered. As the rhythmic spinning seduced my ears I lost awareness of my surroundings and I saw only what was in front of me. I'm now OK with a bit of wonkiness here and there, but more importantly, I can now say with confidence that I had found 'the pottery zone'.

Words to include in a conversation tomorrow

Starling

Sterling

Necklace

Snowflake

Eskimo

Cranky

Whenever

Wow

Happy

Example: This drawing is of a starling. When I think of starlings, I think of sterling silver, then necklaces. Then I think about how I have always wanted a necklace with a snowflake pendant, then I think of eskimos. Then I wonder if eskimos ever get cranky living in such constant cold, because I would. Whenever I see pictures of them I always think 'wow, they look so happy'. What about you, are you as happy as an eskimo?