Let’s talk about the magic of working with clay and the wisdom this medium holds in itself! After all, it is nothing but a fragment of the magnificence that is earth.
Origin Story of my relationship with Pottery
My first interaction with pottery was in school, we used to have a weekly one-hour session of a co-curricular elective and I chose clay class for some of my academic years. Although I never worked on the potter’s wheel in school, we dabbled in hand-building and sculpting. It was mainly play though, playing with the cool mud using our warm bare hands.
Fast forward 10 years or so, and I had my second and more intimate interaction with this beautiful medium. In the second year of the pandemic, when the world started to navigate its new normal, I decided to join pottery classes. I had always had a love for the medium and as I was actively immersing myself in learning and creativity at the time, I decided to get back to playing with clay.
Wheel Pottery- An exercise in Grounding
As I progressed with working with clay on the pottery wheel, I realized that centring is an exercise in grounding. And it was then that the byline/ philosophy of the pottery studio where I have been learning pottery hit me- “You centre the clay, the clay centres you”. I started to notice that my thoughts were translating into that lump of clay through my hands. Doing pottery on the pottery wheel forces you to quiet your mind, and be fully present in the now.
It has been over a year of working on the pottery wheel, and I am always filled with gratitude thinking about what a gift this practice has been to my soul.
Handbuilding Pottery- A practice in Patience
Of late I have been working on hand-building techniques with clay, and I was curious how the process of hand-building will feel and what kind of state of mind it will ignite compared to working on the pottery wheel. Having tried my hand at the process for a few weeks now, I noticed that it is different from working on the wheel but it has its own wonderful flavour. It started with feeling frustrated and getting impatient, but the more time I spent doing it I got present to the sense of calm and the soothing sense of fulfilment that washes over in the process. Handbuilding is a practice in patience, and repetition which puts you in a state of meditation.
Clay holds so many lessons for life, but the biggest lesson I’ve been able to carry with me outside the studio has been knowing to let go of things I cannot control and being detached from the outcome. It has allowed me to deal with obstacles objectively and with compassion.
But above all, I love how this medium forces you to be present in the present moment and is there any greater sense of satisfaction than being fully present in your now?