My voice wavered with embarrassment Monday evening as I over-explained to Kristine the cobbled up mess of the bowl I held, Gently, Kristine took the bowl from me and set it in the kiln for bisque firing. Desperate to show her the intended beauty, I grasped my cell phone, scrolled my photographs and showed her the pictures that I shared with you in Allowing Art To Fall Apart and Mending A Broken Art.

I’m still not certain what to do with the dislodged worm carcasses that remain in my studio. Do I toss ’em into the recycle clay bucket and allow them to become a part of someone else’s work of art? Shall I fire, glaze and display the little wormy pieces as a miscombobulated pile of art? I have three class periods left; a decision needs to be made by Monday. Oh, what to do…

“Art is not the end result; it’s the process of creating it.” -P. Kitti

Through the process of creating this particular bowl, I’ve learned a handful of lessons I didn’t anticipate:

  1. Terracotta planters do not make good ceramic molds; the terracotta draws the moisture out of the clay too fast causing it to crack (no matter how thick the clay is or how I attempted to slow down the drying time).
  2. When starting a blog series on an art project, shit will happen. Out of all the things I made with clay in October and November, the only piece I had troubles with is the one I am writing about.
  3. Patience to see the end result of my mess is not necessarily a virtue (more like an embarrassment).
  4. Kristine, the ceramics teacher, is a very kind woman with the patience of a saint to listen to me babble on and on about how I messed up this bowl.
  5. I am a very determined woman to fix things.
  6. I cannot fix everything.
  7. I can be flexible and kinda sorta adjust to what is and allow ‘things’ morph into what it is.
  8. Clay is forgiving and a silent companion.
  9. Everyone in the ceramics class is compassionate and supportive.
  10. You cannot be rigid and determined that the project will have a specific result.
  11. Going with the flow is less stressful than attempting to control the outcome.
  12. I can be very creative with glazes.
  13. It all works out. Somehow.
  14. I rekindled my dream to create an art studio where people feel safe to connect, create, heal, share stories and drink good wine tea.

Last night I waxed the bottom of the bowl (to prevent glaze from sticking), swirled white glaze inside the bowl, poured a cinnamon colored glaze on the outside and splattered the cinnamon glaze inside (for the fun of it). We are inspired to be creative, to explore various techniques and allow the process of creating art to be what it is – an extension of our imagination.

So, now I wait to see the end result of Mending A Broken Art.

~ Blog Post Series ~

Mending A Broken Art
Allowing Art To Fall Apart
Firing Tender Art
The Purpose of Broken Art