An interesting thing happened to me in 2019. I began the new year with a new job and a deep desire to push the reset button on many areas of my life. During times of transition, I work hard to get centered. That means lots of meditation, journaling, and implementing little moments of spiritual reflection whenever and wherever I can to help me still the noise and find a quiet space to reflect on what comes next.
Over a rapid-fire year full of professional and personal growth, amazing new experiences, challenges, and souls entered my life - giving the world a new color. With all that change happening outside and within me, it was only a matter of time before pottery would follow suit. But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Pottery has been a journey that extends over a decade for me. Through that time, my work has evolved. I’ve tried on several clay personalities before finding my voice and focus. I knew the first time I sat behind the wheel and listened to its rhythmic hum that I found a love that would endure for the rest of my life. And like all good students, I set out to soak up (copy) every artist I admired, receiving instruction from every experienced potter who was patient enough to offer it. When you take in so much guidance and try to swallow the ocean, your work is typically well….all over the place. And for many years, mine certainly has been.
Now, I’ve settled into a style and focus. I call it “ritual pottery.” A marriage of my spiritual self and clay, ritual pottery is work that is functional and designed for the ritualistic practices in life. From life-sustaining activities like eating and drinking through to meditation, reflection, and the methods we seek to calm and center ourselves, my work is shifting to suit the aesthetic and functional needs of folks who are like me: sensory and in search of creative and daily inspiration.
Your favorite mug is your favorite mug for a variety of reasons: it may remind you of a significant person or experience; perhaps you associate that mug with some secret superstition. Whatever the reason, your regular use of it - becomes your ritual. A way of self-soothing. Same for your favorite bowl. If you have an ideal hiding space in your home where you daydream, write or do whatever you do to feed your spirit, I bet you have things in that space you keep close to comfort and inspire you. Ritual pottery is my way of providing something of comfort for that space. It is my reason for making. And I hope it brings you some measure of satisfaction.