So, I moved back East in 2022 with plans to quickly ramp back up with a home studio. I forgot how much cross-country moves take out of you—and your pockets.
I still have lofty plans for the basement space. It’s huge and can accommodate all the shelving, kilns, sinks, and materials you use from start to finish. However, how I want to configure the space has changed repeatedly. That and the expenses of settling into this delightful new space have made me slow down and really be thoughtful about my next steps—specifically, what I “want” versus what I truly require.
The temptation with an ample space is to…fill it. And if you are a potter, you know how quickly you can amass tools to serve any purpose. I moved across the country with boxes and boxes of tools and equipment, much more than I realized I had collected over my 16+ years in Austin.
Unpacking all those items reaffirmed for me how much we hold onto. We wait for use cases and scenarios where items will come in handy - making a grand assumption that the scenario will actually occur. Things gather dust and rust, and we keep on accumulating. Maybe it’s because we’re trying to be everything…all the time. Maybe it’s because filling a space makes us think we are closer to filling ourselves.
Source: instagram.com/iamsibbotery
I created a temporary space where I could warm up my throwing muscles and get back in the rhythm with clay. It’s a large, windowed pantry where I popped up a couple of shelving units, a makeshift wedging table, and, of course, my wheel.
As an interim (and much smaller space), I needed to consider what tools I brought up from the basement. That process made me realize that the core family of tools I use is pretty simple, regardless of the form I’m making. This is not to say other tools don’t come in handy at different transition phases, from thrown form through glaze firing. Dozens of tools go in and out of the process of making. But for throwing, I continue to be amazed at how few tools I use regularly.
It’s almost becoming a challenge to see how few tools I have to achieve my desired result.
So I am making, waking sleeping muscle memories, and finding new skills. Production will be small-batch for now while I work out temporary solutions for glazing and standing up a new shop (!!). More on that to come.