Yesterday afternoon, here in Montgomery County, Maryland, we had a severe storm with winds up to 75 MPH.  I work outside under a covered area in the warm weather and have about 150 pots made, still raw clay, for an upcoming wood firing.  When I saw the storm warning pop up on my computer screen, I immediately ran out and Merrellyn and I shuttled all the work into the lower back door of the house.

When I got dried off and started arranging the work, I occurred to me that I couldn’t even remember the process of making most of the stuff.  It was like looking at someone else’s work.  The shelves outside are pretty tightly arranged and so, after a while, I just feel as if I am surrounded by a wall of pots.  Placing them in a new environment really helped me see them in a fresh light.  This morning, my clay recycling containers got lots of new visitors. 

Another interesting observation I made was that the pots that felt the best were the ones that emerged during long, rhythmical throwing sessions;  kind of the way an old Coltrane tune like, “My Favorite Things,” starts out pretty self consciously and goes to places that couldn’t be pre-planned.  If I sit down and try to make a “good pot,” it doesn’t generally work.  The more egoless, and more honest ones seems to come out of the efforts that arise during spontaneous activity.

Today, the 100 degree heat wave abated a bit and working outside for a longer time was easier.  I made a lot of stuff….no preliminary sketches, etc.  Maybe today’s work will yield some pots that work in synch with nature.  I’ll find out after the next storm.

Kawai Kanjiro Studies his Work......I wonder if he felt the same way.