In 2017 I decided to take a sabbatical to recover from Burnout and to refocus my life and business. I decided I wanted to return to pottery and that’s when I met Sandy; July 2017.
Sandy lives her art and understands that in order to create we have to recreate, take chances, explore and find inspiration in the ordinary - just what I needed to experience at that vulnerable time in my life.
Sandy has this incredible generosity of spirit that fills her studio and her students. Everyone was so welcoming and generous with help, sharing tools and encouragement. It wasn’t very long before those three hours a week became the anchor to my week.
Class grounds me and the hands-on tactile experience of working with clay gets me out of my head.
After 3 years of handwork, I recently decided to try my hand at wheelwork.
One of the first things I learnt was to centre the clay on the wheel. When learning to do this, as soon as it is centred, you give the clay a knock to uncentre it and then start the process over again. This is when Sandy told me, "It's much easier to centre the clay once you've centred it the first time."
Writing this, in the midst of COVID-19, that knowledge often comes back to me. I learnt during my sabbatical how to centre myself, but there are times when I get knocked off centre. As I'm spinning in an uncentered wobble I find it easier to recover and find my centre because I now know what centre feels like for me.
Pottery class provides me with the space to play, ground, centre and connect.
As my fingers drop into the clay to create a well, I am able to move inward and gauge how my inner space, my inner well, is holding up. I am filled with the chatter, laughter and friendship of those around me. The genuine enquiry of "how are you?" or "how was your week?" that tethers me - not only to these wonderful women around me but to all the women who came before to gather in studios, drawing rooms or under the shade of a tree to connect and create.
I’m a much happier adult if I let my inner child out to play and pottery is one of her favourite play dates.
