Ceramics Anonymous

When I look at a lump of clay, I see limitless potential. With only my hands and my imagination, I can take this mound of wet dirt and create something functional. Poetic beauty exists in creating something out of nothing, something beautiful out of something ugly, something useful out of something useless. I have the ability to do that.

The clay spins on the wheel. Every molecule in it resists change, yet I coax it into position with patience and a steady hand. The pressure of my fingers and each unwavering ascent of my hands to the top of the clay builds character into my piece. As I shape its form, I create its personality to mirror a facet of my own. My curvy pieces are fun, inviting one to explore their undulating waves. My angled pieces, although rigid and strict at first glance, are a manifestation of the beauty in order, of the comfort in structure. Every piece in between is the amalgamation of conformity and freedom from boundaries: a beautifully chaotic combination.

My newly-formed creations then face the test of the fiery furnace; can they stay true to the personalities ingrained in their makeup under the intense pressure and heat of the kiln? If they do, they emerge stronger than ever; once tentative forms, now...