What I learned from Pottery Class
I never thought pot(s) could teach me this
Over this past winter into spring I got really into pot…Pottery that is.
Taking a pottery class taught me a lot about myself that I never realized. It was fun and creative but the lesson went much deeper than that, the process was humbling, it was hard, and I wasn’t good at it. Most of the things I choose to do in my daily life I am good at, and that is by design, so it was weird to be really bad at a thing for a change.
I would love to say that I sat down at the potter’s wheel turned it on and I was relaxed and in a flow state, one with the clay crafting masterful works of art that would bring a tear of joy to my mother’s eye and she exclaimed: “that’s my boy, I’m so proud of you.” None of that happened, it was the complete opposite, I sat down and each pot I made was a fucking disaster. I would ask for help, and try to learn from my teacher and classmates but each pot I threw on the wheel was lumpy and asymmetrical. One day I compared my work to the children’s class and theirs was way better! It was like looking in a fun house mirror, the proportions were wonky and curved in all the wrong places “What the fuck” I thought, “how can I suck so bad at this?”
If I am one thing it is stubborn, I didn’t give up, I know no one is good at a new hobby when they first start, but it felt like I had giant meat hands, whereas other noobies had gotten down the basics pretty quickly I was still on step one. Okay, kid what are you doing wrong, I thought to myself, you are making this not fun for yourself and you are solely responsible! It took me till my last class to get it through my thick head, that it is okay to not be great, to enjoy the process, and just play.
I learned that I am not just a control freak but also have unrealistically high expectations of myself. So high that it sucked all the fun out of the class. I had this impression that because I was a “creative person” somehow I would magically be good at pottery. A skill I had no experience with and had never done before. Wow, when you look at it that way of course I sucked! I hadn’t put in the time or reps to be good, If I wanted to be good, I would have to come in consistently make a mess, and make bad work, and eventually, good work would come. For every wonky pot I made I would get closer to the perfectly symmetrical, gorgeous handmade mug I had been dreaming of.
Here are the lessons I learned:
1. It is okay to be bad at something and do it just for fun. You don’t have to be the best at everything! I had to step back and learn humility! This was huge for me, as a self-diagnosed high achiever it is hard to surrender control and just allow the process to happen.
2. Enjoy the process. Make mistakes and learn. Don’t allow yourself to get discouraged for a long time. Shake it off and move on to the next. Keep going and eventually, you will learn. It is silly to think you can master something on the first try or even 50th. Keep doing it and watch how you improve. Patience is vital when starting anything new but also in your daily practices.
3. Lower your expectations, this is great life advice. Don’t assume anything. Be in the moment and enjoy it. It doesn’t matter what other people are making, it matters what you are doing.
4. Have more fun, have fun while you are working, don’t focus on the external reward or validation. No one cares, do it for you, if you are not having fun or enjoying it why do it? Move on
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